


Unforgotten

by JustBukharin



Category: RWBY
Genre: Cinder got a Backstory, Dunno if I will post it there tho, Equilateral Love Triangle, F/F, F/M, Gen, Merlot is actually Canon, Might reach out in other AUs, Multi, Plot still matters somehow, Polyamory, Ruby is innocent, This is an AU of another story, This isn't pairings-driven, This will be developed in Seasons, Volume 3? What Volume 3?, Weiss is dense, and Shaun doesn't know anymore, and misunderstandings, and will have a spotlight, lots of fluff, mostly canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-07-09 02:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19880239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustBukharin/pseuds/JustBukharin
Summary: Weiss Schnee noticed almost immediately that Shaun Reyter was hiding something. But what it could be? Expect some strange, equilateral love triangle and misunderstandings-driven hilarious situations. (This is an AU from another story I am writing)





	1. A Simple Glance

When she had first thought of submitting her request to be admitted to Beacon Academy, Weiss Schnee had expected to win big time. It had seemed the best choice among the three possible paths she could have taken, three different futures that had weighted on her mind for several weeks before making the decision.

Atlas Academy was a renowned Huntsmen school, created from the ashes of Alsius Academy with a militaristic outlook of the job and directly integrated to the Altesian Military itself. It was a good place for someone with the 'Schnee' family as she had some leverage over the school itself and was relatively close to home if she needed to enjoy the holidays.

It was good… except that it was far too good for her tastes.

Sure, Weiss would enjoy relative peace during her studies, maybe even expand those to a level grandly superior to what many other peers would ever be able to obtain with mere hardwork.

But her father was still there. Plans of further increasing her chances of 'running' away from him were less than slim, especially because Winter had done the same exact thing to avoid the burden of being the 'heir' to someone like Jacques Schnee.

The man wasn't outright abusive, but he would be harsh enough to make life insufferable for those that decided to not roll his way. Her scar was proof of it, the fight against the old Altesian Knight Unit should have deterred her from the 'idiotic' notion of pursuing such an activity so 'uncouth' and 'barbaric'.

And yet she had prevailed against this obstacle. The first obstacle of a long line of dangerous issues she would have to face in her life for the sake of find her own fate.

For her own freedom.

So with Atlas Academy a big no-no in her mind, Weiss' attention was directed to Mistral's own Haven Academy.

Leo Lionheart would have caved in to any request bearing the 'Schnee' signature, that was something Weiss had learned a long time ago when she had been taken to see 'how business with Academies were made'.

She had subtly appeared bored by the overall scenery of Mistral, something so much different and contrasting to Altesian style that even someone that disliked the 'northern' culture like her was gagging inwardly.

It wasn't that she outright despised the place, nor that she found the curriculum insufficient. Weiss despised extreme temperatures and it wasn't just for the high ones.

There was the common misconception that an Altesian like her should be able to bear with the cold weather as it was her home but…

The girl had barely left the Schnee Mansion, the sole situations being important events with Atlas' elite or to study her father's way in 'business'.

She rarely had to deal with sickness, common colds being what she knew best during her childhood, and that was why one of her first concern before going for Vale was getting enough medicines to deal with any circumstance.

Anyway, returning back to her analysis about Haven… it was also a big no-no.

Sure, Lionheart would easily accept her request, maybe also forward some tutors to improve his good image even more, but then again she would have to deal with her father's utter opposition.

As much as Weiss had long desired to undermine the man's power over her, she knew what 'subtlety' meant and going to a school that had a 40-50% ratio of Faunus students was begging for some heavy punishment. And that is ignoring the real danger that was a White Fang's infiltration in the school just to get something to use against the leader of the SDC.

With Haven's plan sinking faster than a Vacuan ship during the Great War, the girl was left with just one option.

Beacon Academy was in good terms with the SDC, buying regularly resources to sustain the state of their school. It had a good curriculum, the proof of that being the fact that the best Huntsmen in Remnant had studied there, and it was a place where she could actually exert just enough influence to get some acceptable education there.

A letter was sent and another came few days later, this one bearing Beacon's insigna.

She was accepted to the school, something that was both good but also expected, and she had been provided with the instructions regarding the books to buy, details regarding the equipment that could be brought there and a small booklet with the Academy's rules.

The small text was quick to read but it left her with a state of nervousness. Some particular bits could easily hinder her attempts to get 'her way' done for the sake of comfort, but she shrugged those worries off.

The moment she stepped inside the airship, followed with the luggage she had brought for the long-term study, Weiss felt something curious coming from her chest.

It was intense but also moderate.

As the doors of the ship closed behind her, she let out a smile. For some reason, the mere idea that she was no more 'imprisoned' in her own house was… thrilling.

The excitement was well-hidden as the Schnee had to appear composed in any situation.

...But her entire facade collapsed the moment she spotted a very interesting individual on board that very machine.

Pyrrha Nikos. Weiss had met the famous champion at least ten times before this one, mostly because of Galas made by her parents to further promote the girl in the world of tournaments.

Having a stunning record of three major victories in the last regional tournaments in Mistral, the girl was the most known athlete in the world.

While she would hardly say that they had been good friend, the Schnee was quite certain that they were in amiable terms.

It was surprising to see her not only having ditched the life of a tournament's champion, but also because she had picked Beacon too as people had long speculated that she would have gone for Haven.

Her reasoning about this unexpected twist was incredibly short, her polite and kind mask keeping her from expressing much of what the Mistralian girl truly thought of the matter.

It was actually easy to pick the main reason from her faux explanation, but Weiss hardly felt the need to press on it.

The red-head wanted a break from the constant watch the world was having over her. An infuriating life for someone that hardly experienced freedom.

The Altesian girl could relate to her plight and so she silently agreed to not press further on the matter, changing topic immediately.

Their chat was curt, limited to merely exchanging developments about their respective lives, what they expected from their new lives and some minor betting about what the initiation test was going to be.

Just as they started to discuss about teams the airship completed its landing and the doors for her new 'home' were now open for her to pass through.

While not as sophisticated as Atlas Academy, Beacon had a particular style that was oddly warm to the look. A difficult depiction to make, especially since this was her first time in Vale, but it was a… positive grade in her mind.

With one last sigh, Weiss Schnee stepped forward to face a new part of her life.

One that would see her become something greater than she was now!

**Ka-Boom!**

...Or not.

* * *

Willow Schnee, the rightful heir to Nicholas Schnee's fortune, was an individual that Weiss held in an high pedestal while also having some mixed feelings about her more recent actions. She had been a strong woman, that had long proven to be the role model of the rebellious paths both Winter and her younger sister had taken for the sake of a better future.

When Jacques Gelé married her in an arranged marriage, things went downhill in a moderate pace. Some of her shares of the SDC were silently 'borrowed' by her husband, then it came with her fencing lessons that she had started to take after finishing her studies in a Huntsmen Academy (Which surprisingly enough, Weiss discovered it wasn't Atlas Academy) and soon things spiraled down even faster.

A crescendo that saw her entire social life, her entertainment, dented day-by-day and then… it was over. She was stuck with nothing but being the 'trophy wife' of the persuasive man, to be shown and paraded only during important events and festivals while also being conveniently ignored and forgotten the rest of the time.

An attempt had been made years ago, Weiss could remember that she happened to have been close to her father's office as her mother tried to build a strong case to repel the latest limitations Jacques had pushed onto her.

The sound of a slap, followed by her mother falling on the floor because of the sudden act, was something that still echoed loudly in the Altesian girl's mind. It was a taunting reminder that, while her family was indeed dysfunctional for so many reasons, it was also true that the main reason was one and only one. A catalyst for the painful differences between her and another normal girl.

But beyond this tragic downfall, her mother had been quite supportive when she had started to take fencing class. It wasn't something clear and simple to spot, but thinking back at some of Willow's incoherent, drunk mumbling, Weiss could see some wisdom given here and there.

There was a single advice that jumped to her attention right by the time she was provided with it.

A simple glances, while not absolute, can tell so much of a person.

This simple sentence shouldn't be that much important for someone stuck away from socializing and she found it quite useless during her fencing class, but now the Schnee could see the reason behind it as she dealt with some headaches happening in that very day.

But let us start with the first issue.

Ruby Rose, 15, childish and very unprepared to face Beacon Academy.

While the heiress knew that she could have solved that very predicament that saw a good part of her Dust destroyed with the sneeze-induced explosion, part of her refused to acknowledge her rightfully guilty part in that escalation.

If she had been a little less 'nervous' about her first day at the Academy and had given weight to the very unique situation regarding the younger girl, she could have replied with a less brash tone and maybe kept a cool head while dealing with that dolt.

While seemingly fiery in her replies, the caped girl was all bark and no bite about her most of her claims of being sufficiently ready for this 'journey', the insecurity present in that face denying her to attain some credibility and making her a pathetic fool in Weiss' eyes.

To add insult to the injury, the Schnee was distracted by a specific bow-wearing dunderhead.

Blake Belladonna was as mysterious as snarky in her regards. While the usually silent girl had tried to sound impartial in her fact-checking, she had severely underestimated the Altesian girl's experience with liars.

Bitterness was quite easy to uncover, but the reason behind it? Sadly a mere look cannot provide unlimited answers and she had to live with what she got until now.

The cherry on top of the cake representing the disastrous day at Beacon was Yang Xiao Long.

Crass, cheeky and infuriatingly persistent, the blonde was the reason that the predicament escalated to an even more complicated situation. One that she had tried to make amend in the way she saw most fitting.

Ruby was an unknown individual in the ever-moving world Weiss Schnee was forced to deal with, but the heiress of the SDC had it all solved in the form of making a quick apology and some swift heads-up to kick the girl in the proper direction in truly catching up with the initial stage of the school.

That was how she had thought of it… but the annoying brawler hadn't.

It didn't help that the girl started to tease her younger sister into 'befriending the prude' and 'maybe doing some more', leading to some distasteful images the flirty tone of the blonde were alluding at.

Filthy was the best adjective that could describe the mind of Yang Xiao Long.

Disengaging from that very embarrassing had taken a toll in her time and soul, leading to a very tired Altesian girl to seek the comfort only a pillow could give as she went to search for some free space in that humongous room.

Picking up a spot (far, far away from the trouble trio) was actually easier than she had thought and Weiss ended up sitting close to a normal-looking Valean boy as he finished rummaging with his backpack.

Brown hair, slim cheeks and quite scrawny for someone her age, she felt like this individual hardly physically fit to be in Beacon of all places. While it was true there was no specific rule regarding a student's physical appearance, it was also right to be concerned about someone's inherent capacity to fend off against the Grimm.

Still she decided against probe information from the curious individual, deciding to settle down and put herself in a comfortable position. Eyes closed and head quietly settling in her soft pillow, Weiss felt her consciousness slip as she fell asleep.

* * *

It was morning, the lights coming from the tall windows of the room illuminating the place where she was currently sleeping.

A finger softly poked at her shoulder, shyly trying to get her to open her eyes and… she did. Blue eyes slowly opened to see the hand connected to the very young man that she had first seen before falling asleep.

Slightly crouched to reach her, he was giving her a sleepy look. "Good morning."

She bit down a yawn and nodded. "Good morning."

"Professor Goodwitch announced that breakfast is going to start in an hour and… we have little time to get everything ready."

The Schnee nodded and slowly got up as she went towards the female section of the bathroom. Before she was out of ear-sight, she muttered a quiet 'thank you' to the young man and she had expected to not be replied to as she silently stepped inside the bathroom.

"You are welcome."

A surprised blink painted her whole expression as she heard a response.

Now that was a nice response to start the day.

She nodded to herself as she blinked inside the pristine white room and was greeted by the sight of every girls there for the test going through their own morning rituals. There were at least ten or more, but her eyes narrowed just twice as she looked around.

The first time being when she saw a familiar mane of gold chuckling at the younger, sleep-dead girl trying to move through her own pattern of getting refreshed. The latter bit being when she spotted the bow-wearing dolt finishing putting on her battle gear.

Just as Weiss was ready to go and find a small place where to start her own pattern, she was greeted by a waving Pyrrha Nikos."

"Weiss." The heiress cracked a small, polite smile.

"Pyrrha, I see that you have already finished." The redhead nodded at the comment, her battle-armor was something the Schnee had long found endearing to stare at but not enough to actually make it seems like she was ogling at it.

"My former stall is still unoccupied, you could use it." Now that was a kind act that she could accept, Weiss mused as she nodded at the offer. One that she had to take because she needed to be quick in her refreshing as the initiation was about to happen and… they still had to recover their equipment.

Through she would usually spend more time completing this routine back home because of the needs of her pure, white hair, the heiress was also quite acknowledged in not warranting any ill judgment from the teachers by wasting too much time in that bathroom.

As the two girls left the place to seek the armory which contained their weapons, they started to resume their discussion about teams.

Beacon's way to create the classic four-men squads was different from Atlas and Haven, an unknown method that was jokingly kept a secret from the Academy's students to add more 'surprise' to the whole discovery.

Weiss wanted to be Pyrrha's partner. The decision was motivated by so many advantages that would come with that scenario, like being able to properly learn from the Nikos' experience in fighting while also improving her current fighting style.

Soon after the heiress had recovered Myrtenaster and the Amazon had recovered her Lance and Shield from their respective lockers, the two girls were interrupted by a blond boy… and the brunet that had woken her up early that morning.

Light-blue eyes blinked as she stared at the two different individuals.

While the leading figure, the blond, was smiling over-confidently while introducing himself as 'Jaune Arc', the other teen was silent. It wasn't a comfortable silence, but one born out of embarrassment at his friend's sudden presentation and at the reaction it was giving to both girls.

"-And who are you, Snow Princess?"

Weiss blinked, her scowl hardly hidden at being called out from her silent study. To think that he would still barge in her moment of quiet, as she was trying to decipher the puzzle in front of her.

"I would prefer to not talk with you, especially since I had given quite enough signs that I don't wish to be disturbed."

The Altesian girl was half-right in her refusal, being truly not interested in commencing some silly chit-chat with someone this annoying and pushy. But it was also true that her silence hardly told someone that she was truly unapproachable as she was trying to make it sound right now at the blond idiot.

Yet the entire situation, a very chill one, was suddenly flipped by the interjection from someone not even the Schnee would have expected to come from.

"If you want you could talk with me?"

The three stared at the partially blushing Pyrrha Nikos, the blond being the one that recovered first. "S-Sure, I mean if I am not being too much brash-" "N-No, _sorry_. I mean- you don't seem that much brash and-"

As the two started to chat quietly about foolish topics like the redhead being the mascot of the 'Pumpkin Pete' cereals, Weiss decided to return back to the interesting 'object' of her curiosity… which had by now noticed her stare. Her cheeks heated up a little at the situation, but she was hardly deterred from continuing with her studious glance.

Now she just needed to vocally address and smooth out this… predicament. Errors are meant to happen to everyone, but that didn't mean that those couldn't be fixed afterward with some tact and persuasion.

Plus there was so much that she needed to discern from the young man, something pressing on her mind that he was something worth of keeping an eye on.

He looked particularly strange with his fidgeting, nervousness easy to attribute to his current reaction to the overall situation. So she decided to merely introduce herself, hoping to glimpse something from the name she would be given back.

"I am Weiss Schnee. May I know whom I am speaking to?"

The boy twitched in surprise, eyes wide open, but he still managed to reply. "S-Shaun Reyter. I-I'm sorry if Jaune-"

"Not important." The girl cut him down curtly as she asserted dominance over the discussion. "Your name is quite… unique. May I inquire about your… home?"

He blinked, frowning as he tried to get a coherent answer out of his lips. "I-I am from..." Shaun paused, looking away as his sight darted left and right. "M-Mantle."

So from Atlas too? While Mantle was poorer than Atlas, the large city that had once hosted the government of the Kingdom in the north was hardly someplace to scoff at. Not as advanced technologically, its edge was presented by the still massive population living in the large urban center.

And it was also true that there had been some rumors about people breaking away from the traditional color scheme to name the new generations.

The Great War might be a scar still fresh for many, but the direct attempts to smooth the process of peace had all but faded overtime. The world was changing and so were the generations ruling it. Weiss could remember her father muttering foul words alone in his office as he discovered that one of the newest councilman was extravagantly displeased by the SDC and more inclined to support the struggling companies that tried and failed to keep up with the powerful company.

"So, _Shaun_ , what preparation school did you take before Beacon?" Now that was an interesting question to ask.

There were so little pre-Academies spread in Remnant for someone to lie about and this was the time to properly get a hint on this incredibly difficult question-made-man.

"A-Actually I didn't do a preparation school." The boy admitted shyly. "I-I was taught by an old huntsman that wanted to mentor someone and… I just happened to be there."

The heiress blinked, face betraying no emotion as she felt pure surprise control her mind. It was rare to meet someone trained by a former Hunter and generally speaking, those were students with their own issues.

The biggest of them all was the need to get in touch with the books regarding the job as they had to recover at least five years of curriculum of the Pre-Academy while also keeping a good pace with the Academy's own share of homework.

A difficult situation that was eased by the experience they had gained prior to the acceptance to an Academy. While written tests were a good way to keep a good relationship with teachers, it was an absolute fact that work on the field was deemed the most important part of the five years.

Experience meant an advantage in quickly catching up with the true part of the job and that… that was useful for her.

While Pyrrha was the best candidate as a partner, her mind started to formulate a team with Shaun as part of it. The chemistry could be worked on and… she would get a proper sight of his usefulness once the initiation began.

"By the way, what kind of weapon do you use?"

* * *

Ruby Rose was feeling a strange kind of distress.

Caressing the case containing Crescent Rose as a mean of getting some comfort, she continued to stare worried at the white-haired girl that she had met the previous day. She looked like a princess and that was one of the reasons why… she wanted to befriend the pretty girl.

O-Of course that doesn't mean that this was the main reason, s-she wasn't the little girl stuck with fairy tales and all. She sighed as she tried to find Yang in the large crowd of students trying to get all their _amazing_ weapons.

The last time she had spotted the blonde was when she went to search for the bow-wearing, black-haired girl. She had tried to befriend her too, but for some reasons she felt weirded out by something about her.

She felt… that it was like trying to deal with someone completely dejected by the need of making friends with any of the students there, something that only Yang would find a hint of giving a strong pursuit. So she did and now they were last seen chatting quietly about unknown topics.

The Rose was alone in the sea of strangers, trying to find something to grab into. The girl, Weiss, she knew about her but… she frowned at the boy. Who was he? Why her frie- _acquaintance_ was smiling as they continued to chat together.

She started to stroke the case of Crescent Rose even more, just like a furious girl would do with a cat. Differently from the High-velocity sniper/scythe in her hands, the animal would have taken offense at that unnecessary pace and retaliated quite horribly.

It was when the young man took out his gun that something snapped inside Ruby. It wasn't surprise, nor awe as she looked coldly at the _common_ Mistral M-32. A simple weapon that was easily available even to first-years back in Signal Academy and… this boy was going to use that?

It had no particular customized bit she could spot from her distant position, but she was fairly sure the object lacked any personal modification whatsoever. Her grip around the case tightened as she pressed it on her chest.

Unknowingly, Ruby continued to glare at the young man as he continued to chat with Weiss. She was unsure what might have made the white-haired girl interested on someone _like him_ , but with the initiation soon to begin and with her **baby** finally going to make a strong appearance…

She will leave an impression!

* * *

The cliff that gave to the Emerald Forest was… a strange place to hang around.

Maybe it was the fact that I had hardly imagined to be actually accepted in Beacon, having gone through hell and back to get some recommendation from some old huntsman in Vale to avoid any unnecessary questions about my whole preparation.

While Jaune was stuck in that situation, I was quite sure Ozpin wouldn't have let this slip twice. But while my knowledge of the show was limited up to the end of Volume 2, my capacity to use guns was… mediocre at best.

I had trained once or twice a month with dad back home, the old timer having served in the military and having kept some useful skills to show and teach. I had learned much about survival and being able to prepare camps in a forest-like scenery, but I have never shot something 'alive'.

The Grimm might be monsters that lurked around with the sole intention of destroying humanity, but those still moved quickly around and I am a very trigger-happy individual when nervous. Hopefully the Aura I had managed to get unlocked would be more than enough to avoid deadly blows.

The entirety of the students reached the launching pads as the Headmaster gave the last words before starting the test. Just like in Canon, Jaune tried to inquire about the definition of 'landing strategy' but was ignored and launched in the air without much of a sigh from Professor Goodwitch.

I prepared myself mentally as I felt the launch pad under me heating up and-

_We are flyin'!_

The wind was cool while it rushed at my face but still bearable enough as I continued to glide through the air, trying to get some idea in properly landing myself in the forest. I could try to pull a 'Ren' and use my gun as a medium to descend one of the trees, or maybe use the weapon as a surfboard like Pyrrha did in Canon.

My musing had a brief life as I found myself starting to descend into the branches of the trees below. Gritting my teeth, I tried to enter the forest by using the branches as some cushions, trying to use my feet to catch some footing.

The first branch cracked instantly, the second one actually bend unnaturally before snapping too. The third one was thicker and it merely creaked as it absorbed a good part of the impact as I converted the remaining energy in a quick jump forward. I reached the ground, rolling rapidly right-

**SLAM**

-into the bark of another tree.

With a groan I started to get up, checking for any damaged equipment on my side. None was touched by the landing and I was glad that I didn't have to suffer any more disadvantage than my current ones.

M16 in my hands, I started to venture deep in the foliage while keeping my mind clear from any foul thoughts that might attract monsters at me. Just as I turned a corner, further directed deeper in the forest, I heard some sapling snapping near where I was.

My body tensed as I felt sudden movements from my left flank. I jumped forward, dodging a large paw slamming on the ground and- Shit!

A large ursine form, dark fur and bone-like spikes heavily armoring its face, spine and arms. It was really large, larger than a normal Beowolf as it stalked me closely.

The giant monster roared a challenge as it prepared to pounce once more and I felt my nervousness increase. I could have dispatched an Ursa Minor rather quickly, but an Ursa Major was another issue altogether.

The Grimm rushed towards me, its underbelly well close to the ground, making it difficult for me to get a clear shot on it. Muttering some swearing, I jumped on the right, letting the beast crash on the large tree behind where I once was.

A pained whine left its maw as it slowly recoiled at the sudden mistake, my rifle already shooting as six rounds managed to pierce the partially exposed weak-spot. After a while, it readjusted its position to face me once again, this time the pain adding more priority in killing me.

He rushed again, this time its pace faster than last time but… it jumped up to gain more speed. I blinked in surprise and barely moved to slide underneath its large frame as it passed near. The M16 was staring up as it cracked five more times, the monster groaning at the wounds as it waited a moment to recover.

A moment that I wasn't going to allow to happen as my legs moved right as I slowed down in the slide, rushing at it and unloading the full capacity left on the weak-point.

It stopped moving as soon as the empty magazine dropped on the floor, my labored breathing turning to be the only sound I could hear in around me. Its form turned dark as it disappeared in particles, leaving nothing on its death's wake.

My legs trembled as I dropped on my knees, the bravado induced by the adrenaline gone by the time my body was left cold and tired. I sighed as I tried to use the closest tree to slowly get up and… I felt footsteps.

Just as I was turning around to see who it was, I felt the air in my lungs forcibly ejected as a particularly big, red bullet slammed onto my chest and forced me to slam on the very tree I had used to stand up. I felt something wet touch the lower spot of my face as I found my mind shutting down.

Blackness took me out just as I saw someone wearing white approaching the area.

* * *

Ruby was starting to regret her quick-minded decisions as she stared down at the now unconscious teen below her while Weiss finally reached them.

She had been carefully following the girl from a good distance, trying to avoid getting the unwanted attention of Grimm around her as she continued to silently stalk the girl through the forest.

Using the trees' branches had made things just a little more easier, just enough for her to not need to deal with the pesky Beowolves trying to annoy her while she had things to do. Very important things.

The Rose stared quietly as a smile appeared in her face the moment she saw the heiress deal quickly with some Boarbatusks rushing her. The sublime precision in piercing their weak-spots with her rapier was enough to make Ruby accept even more the fact she had to seriously partner up with the princess-like girl.

Sadly she was also hesitant in approaching the girl… because how she was supposed to greet her?

Confidently? No, she would get shot down like it had happened to Jaune earlier that morning.

Shyly? It would reinforce the heiress' idea that she was too much insecure to become a Huntress.

Showing off her gun? It would only make the girl angry at her for showing off.

The girl thought back about Yang's warnings about never following someone she liked in such way but... It was such a difficult thing to not do! The heiress looked so pretty and Ruby hardly wanted to be seen as a moron in her attempt to show she was a reliable partner and a caring lo- _friend!_

Socializing was a difficult beast, one far different than the Grimm Ruby was slowly discovering as she cut down a sneaky Beowolf trying to climb up her perching.

Silly monster, you can't touch the amazing Ruby Rose. Her lips twitched at the mere thought and… what a sad way to entertain herself, giggling at her own jokes.

That does sounds a little bit pathetic- Wait!

The girl tensed as she spotted far away in the direction the Schnee was following a familiar individual. Eyes narrowing right at the silly boy that was trying to steal her partner with his mysterious charms.

She crouched a little, feeling energy flowing in her legs as she visualized her target. Using Crescent Rose might be overkill and thus Ruby had to use the only thing left to use right in that moment.

The branch she was previously standing on snapped as she rushed with her semblance right at the unsuspecting young man and- She made a mistake.

Or better, she aimed too much well.

Being a prodigy with snipers, the Rose was quite good in planning a trajectory for a bullet and, when she had formulated the right angle to pursue to perfectly slam into the poor boy, she had aimed for the head…

With her head.

While she had twisted her body mid-air to not literally slam her head into his, the worst thing ever happened. She indeed impacted on him, but her exposed lips were quick to press into his unaware mouth.

It was something instantaneous and momentary, but she felt it. It was a thunderous sensation that lasted hardly a single frame of her life but… she stood above his collapsed body, fingers pressing on her lips as she tried and failed to understand what had just happened.

She was interested in Weiss! So why- why-…..

"Is everything alright?" Ruby tensed up as she slowly turned to stare at the concerned expression in the Altesian girl's face, which suddenly morphed in a panicked one as she rushed towards her- no, _towards him_.

She crouched to cheek on him as she turned to the caped girl. "What happened here and shouldn't you be helping him?"

There was some stern note here and there, but Ruby decided to ignore it for the sake of avoiding more embarrassing moments. She had already stalked the heiress like a creep and she literally lost her first kiss because of some dumb reactions... today wasn't just her day, wasn't it?

* * *


	2. An Enthusiastic Walk

No matter how much Weiss tried to justify whatever she was dealing with, the more she thought about it the more she felt getting dumber and dumber at the weird answers the dolt would eagerly provide with a very awkward tone.

Crouched down to tend to the unconscious boy, the heiress had tried to avoid getting distracted by the annoyingly poking presence that was Ruby Rose. The girl wasn’t overly-pestering her (yet) but her intense stare was enough to keep her from fully focus on Shaun and… try to get away from her with him.

The previous day she had been so easy to understand and, while the Schnee still perceived the past interactions as good examples to label the girl’s incessant vitality, she still found quite a downgrade the utter lack of coherent speaking the Rose was showing in the forest.

It didn’t help that the girl was being relatively far too close for her tastes, excusing this sudden attitude by the fact that now they were ‘partners’ and that she needed to keep a close eye on her. The dumb rule the headmaster had adamantly repeated at the introduction to Beacon was something that contained very few loopholes that the girl had sought out for the sake of dealing with this kind of nightmare-like predicaments.

Thus without missing a beat, never showing the hesitation that would blow her half-lie, Weiss scoffed at the caped girl and replied that Shaun was the one she had seen first and, if Ruby was completely sure she had not seen the boy before seeing the heiress, then she wasn’t partnered with her nor him.

Her mouth opened but no sound left at first. A clear victory, the Altesian girl had thought.

But then she spoke. “I-I saw him first!”

The exclamation brought to her mind several emotions, some easy to understand while others incredibly new.

Confusion at the idea that the younger female would drop to that kind of responses to… not get beaten in that chat? It was unbelievable that the Rose would try to go for such a senseless tactic. Why would she even think of going for him? Was it because she knew about his unconscious secret?

Irritation stemming from Ruby genuinely going after Shaun now. She knew that it was a mere bait to get a rise out of her and that the Valean girl looked hardly interested in the boy himself, but knowing did nothing in depriving her from the boiling sense of fury developing within her head and chest.

Anger had always been there for the heiress, even when she kept her strong composure during fights. It was a reminder of the fact that she could easily break away from the frail mask she had built around her ‘proper’ Schnee personality. Something to remind her that she could easily ‘leave’ and make a different life for herself.

But this time the inner burning emotion wasn’t centered about her family and predicament. It was directed to the very girl trying to make lousy claims about someone she barely knew off. Weiss knew Shaun, his name, his place of origin… his appearance?

Okay, heiress knew particularly _little_ about the boy, but it was still more than what the pretentious Rose was trying to take away who was rightfully her partner!

Just as she was ready to give a piece of her mind at the unacceptable claims, the sound of multiple loud growls brought her away from her inner struggle. Weiss didn’t need to turn around to know that they were encircled by several Beowolfs and she decided to make a simple choice based on their current situation.

One of them had to stay and get to wake up the unconscious teen before he got mauled by the approaching Grimm. Gritting her teeth, she glanced at the caped girl and spoke some difficult words. “Can you cover me?” The girl omitted the ‘dolt’ denomination for the sake of appearing ready to accept any friendly reproaching and… Ruby smiled widely.

“Yes!”

A red blur traveled to a high pace, petals fluttering around her steps as she started to engage the fiends with quick precision and speed. Snorting at the showoff that was the younger female, the Schnee returned to the object of her current concern regarding survival. A swift slap on his face hardly gained any reaction from the sleeping boy in front of her.

Another one followed and then again.

**Slap**

**Slap**

**Slap**

**Slap**

**Slap**

She was about to give up with this fruitless endeavor when she felt a shadow above her. One of the Beowolf had passed through Ruby’s defense and was now ready to attack her. She had Myrtenaster and could dodge the incoming claw but…

If she dodged that hit, Shaun would be the one suffering the attack and he was running low on Aura. A small scowl adorned her face as she tried to formulate something to deal with the Grimm without endangering the teen she was supposed to protect.

She was going to be a Huntress and what kind of guardian of justice would let a fellow comrade be hurt by her lack of planning?

Her body stretched to bring the rapier to pierce the monster’s chest- **THUD –** but its other pawn was now pressing her back onto the body of the unconscious boy, crippling any attempt from her part to salvage the situation.

It was now too late to bring some plan to avoid the damage and, seeing the need of dodging now ditched for Shaun’s sake, she closed her eyes as she waited for the pain to come. She had never experienced something like a claw, maybe punches, slaps and being slammed on a wall, and her mind was clueless about what kind of suffering was coming to happen to her.

But Weiss closed her eyes and prepared to face it the best she could. No need to cry on spilled milk, her aura could tank that hit without much issue and-

**ZAP**

Something did slam into something else, but it wasn’t not the claw upon her back. A brief blink flickered her sight back to the forest, back to the strange scene happening so close to her. The Beowolf’s mug was cracked, the bone-like armor on its face utterly shattered as it groaned in pain against the responsible of such counter.

A familiar fist had caused all of this, now colored in a purely soft blue as it slowly retreated back close to the owner. Her blue eyes slowly returned back to the teen and- Shaun blinked back, a surprised expression painted in his features.

“A-Are you okay?” His meek tone brought her back from her little quiet moment, a moment where her mind went suddenly still with her thoughts as she felt… lighter. She blinked twice before she truly recovered.

“I am fine.” She stated curtly slowly picking herself up and helping the boy up. “Are _you_ okay? You were the one unconscious.”

He scratched his head looking sheepish, quite the curious action for someone if the Altesian girl had to be honest and… she felt it oddly fine to see done by someone like Shaun. “Just a little dizzy, nothing to worry about.”

Weiss nodded and preparing Myrtenaster, she turned to see where the dolt had gone. She had been given a simple job, failing miserably by letting one of the Grimm pass through her and then-

…

Where was she?

Indeed the caped girl was nowhere to be seen in that section of the forest, not by the ground level and not by the branches of the trees around them. She turned to look at the young man, trying to gain some further help in finding the pest before she committed something even worse than-

Shaun was staring to the sky, head tilted in surprise and confusion, and the heiress decided to look up herself, right where the boy was looking at. Her eyes widened as she spotted a lone Nevermore, the large bird cawing in irritation as it tried to bring down the small, red thing staying on its wings.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to see if it was- Yes, Weiss was watching at Ruby Rose as she tried with everything she got to stay onto the flying Grimm above them. Truly an interesting thing to understand as the white-haired girl had been crystal clear when with her ‘cover me’ she had explicitly meant ‘kill the Beowolfs’ and not ‘jump on some Nevermore and cause major migraines’.

“So… we are following her?” Shaun asked with a genuine hint of curiosity regarding this whole mad predicament, missing most of the context regarding it. She was tempted to just shrug the need of help the younger girl off from that difficult issue she got herself into… but she could see that the boy himself wanted to help the caped girl because it was the right thing to do (without knowing the context behind her hesitation).

She sighed gravely and nodded. “Yes.” Her mouth twitched in amusement as she pronounced the following words. “I guess this will prove if you are a worthy partner.”

The Heiress didn’t waste time in gauging Shaun’s reaction, already rushing away from the clearing and following the direction the creature above was going into. The boy was indeed following her, but, unknown to the girl, his mind was completely rebooting from that very development.

\------------------d-d-d-dd---------------d-d-d-d-d-------------d-d-dd-d--------------d-d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-d-----

Ruby was truly not having a good time today as she ended up regretting once more her poor (career) choices. When she had gone to attack the annoying mutts distracting her from achieving at least some common point with the heiress, she had planned to roll back to display her capacity to the skeptical girl once she had dealt with the present threat.

Having killed at least seven of those and seeing none around her, the Rose decided to finally try and aim for something big enough to make people awe at her capacity. At least people like Weiss. Friendship was weird for Ruby had never had a proper friendly relationship with any of the classmates back in Signal Academy.

Being the younger sister of someone very gorgeous and violent like Yang meant two major constants in her life: Being used by some boys to get a chance to ask out the older blonde, which would end up with a sound beating courtesy of the brawler herself, and being ignored by the rest because of how popular her big sister was.

She had thought that she could have changed that dull situation by joining in Beacon and… Ruby decided to take some study about this whole ‘friendship’ thing. Yang’s room was close to hers and before they had to leave for the Academy, the blonde spent most of her time outside, either in some pub at night or getting some modifications for Bumbleby by the day.

Entering inside to take something from there would have been much more easier if she didn’t get some dumb guilt early on. What if her father had seen her taking stuff from Yang’s room? Would he have taken her cookies away for a month _or more_?!

The silly questions evaporated by the time she got one of the magazines piles in a small mountain near the girl’s bed and… she was initially confused. While the pages were highly detailed in explaining how girls usually behaved and… it explained how to make friends with girls!

Sure, it called them ‘girlfriends’ but the meaning was the same. To ‘conquer’ a friend you need to understand what kind of person you are talking with. Her first encounter with Weiss- Actually, _every_ encounter with the Altesian girl ended up showing a dominant trait that was meant to be taken cautiously.

Ruby was unaware what the term ‘Tsundere’ meant at first, but the description provided by the magazine represented much of what she could see from the Schnee’s behavior. Easy to anger, flusters in anger when a simple mistake is made against her and she scoff at people.

It was her! But her initial thought crashed and burned when the heiress, which had shown this kind of behavior mostly to her, had quickly been _ensnared_ by that curious boy and his good charming skills!

Her plan to properly remove him from Weiss’ proximity backfired quite horribly, especially when the Schnee decided to tend for him as he was there unconscious. Ruby could still feel the oddly sweet taste of his li- _NO!_ He was the enemy and she was not going to _notice how delicious that kiss wa-_ NO!

Her hood hardly hid the blush encompassing her whole face as she continued to remain perched on the Nevermore thanks to Crescent Rose- Oh right, she was in that predicament. Honestly the Rose was quick to admit that this was possibly her worst decision ever. She had aimed big and big she got, but way bigger than she had initially wanted.

The Nevermore roared once more, the wind bending to its strong caw and once more stressing the pressure the scythe was giving to its wing. Ruby sighed as she readjusted her position over the beast and she continued with her new plan.

While she couldn’t just jump off from the Grimm because the height was a tiny bit too much for her aura, the girl could still take advantage of the opportunity offered by her high standing. She could see the ancient temple where they were supposed to recover the relics and… Weiss and _Shaun_ were following her to try and get her off from that unfortunate situation of hers but she could still gain something from this all.

Ozpin had said that there were two partners, not three, thus the relics they were supposed to recover where in pairs. If Ruby reached the temple and picked the same relic as Weiss… they were going to be partners forever!

As the little flight continued, the Rose could also see several other students moving through the forest and she was surprised when she spotted Jaune and Pyrrha running away from a… Death Stalker? The creature was hardly known in Patch but she could recognize the form fitting with the detailed descriptions her father would give to the Grimm in the tales about his old team.

Returning back to the blond boy, she let a little giggle out as he indeed managed to get paired with someone that strangely fitted well with him. Ruby had barely talked with the Mistralian girl, but she was fairly sure the two sharing the same lack of social capacity (pretty much her own inability) was actually going to make for some good chemistry for the two of them in whatever team they were going to end into.

Few moments passed and her attention was caught by a big Grimm, an Ursa, trying to shrug off the giggling girl riding it through the forest and towards the temple. The joyride seemed funnier (and safer) than her current solo flight above the entire place. The Rose almost pitied the Grimm after a while as the monster ended up slamming quite painfully on the bark of a thick tree before dying by the pain.

Now that she noticed it, the place the orange-haired teen was right where a familiar blonde and a bow-wearing girl were. Waving madly at her sister, she decided to make her presence known.

“YAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNG!”

Her attempt was successful as lilac eyes… and yellow ones stared right at her as she tried to keep stable in the even-more distressed Nevermore. She had expected the large avian monster to keep flying around and hardly land with its current issues but-

**SLAM**

She learned the hard way that both the Grimm and her shared an inherently dumb way of making decisions, as the fiend slammed onto the cliff near the temple. The impact was so strong that Crescent Rose was quickly plugged out from the Grimm and Ruby lost her footing as she fell down towards the green ground.

Panic skyrocketed as her descend was quite quick. Yang looked scared, same for the other girl, Blake, and her mind was unfocused to actually do something about this all. She felt her brain scrambling against the wind, the massive influx of thoughts and the panic riddling it all.

She closed her silver eyes, hoping that her Aura was stronger than before (for reasons yet unknown but everyone believes in something in times of distress) and-

Someone caught her.

Strong arms took her frame quickly, safely. Relief was quickly washing over her as she felt the descent slow down so suddenly and soon… it stopped. When she opened her eyes, she had expected to see the grinning face of her sister that, somehow, managed to catch her just in time.

When she opened her eyes, she was not greeted with Yang Xiao Long. Silver eyes were matched by a pair of dark-chocolate ones. It was like staring at cookies- _It was him_!

The blush crept back as she tried to drag her hood further down on her face to cover how red she was getting. The boy blinked. “Are you okay?”

A dying ‘eep’ didn’t left her mouth just by quick response as she nodded swiftly at the question, hoping for this to not turn in any interrogation about her sudden redness.

Ugh, why was this happening?!

“Can you stand?” Another nod and she was slowly helped to stand properly out of that bridal hold. Just as she felt recovering from that scary experience, she saw the other girls approaching and the heiress was the one that spoke first.

“The plan worked, the glyphs held but… I think it could have been better and less risky.”

Shaun shrugged. “I was pressured into going for that, Weiss, I didn’t mean to rush anything.”

The Altesian girl sighed calmly and nodded. “I can accept that excuse, but I hope this is the last time you need to push for something too much risky.”

He nodded and as he continued to speak with the Schnee, Ruby was embraced quite fiercely by her sister’s strong arms. The two siblings were not shy to have display of closeness, but right in that moment the Rose was slightly embarrassed by it all. Maybe it was the fact that there were so many people and… she was older.

“You silly girl, you almost gave me a heart attack.” Yang muttered as she ruffled her short hair. “What were you doing on that Nevermore.”

The young girl tried to give some excuses about that ‘predicament’ but she was beaten by Weiss’ annoyed voice. “She was asked to help in dealing with some Beowolfs while I tried to get Shaun awake.”

The heiress blinked while turning to the boy with a confused brow raised. “Actually why were you unconscious? Was it the Grimm?” The attention was brought back to the boy, who blinked in some self-confusion about that very matter.

Ruby felt nervous suddenly as she hoped that she had been _quick_ enough to not be noticed by him- “If I have to be honest I could remember something red crashing onto me and-Mffh?!”

Never in her life she would have thought that she would have to resort in putting her hands on someone mouth. The Rose shook her head negatively. “I-It was nothing! A Grimm just caught you unaware and I killed it, yeah!” The following nervous giggle hardly helped to keep her case as the truth and ended up adding more suspicion regarding this whole… incident.

It was right in that moment that Ruby was saved again, this time by the very Nevermore that she had so much ‘fun’ to take around the Emerald Forest. It seemed (pissed) happy, so much (pissed) happy that it let out the loudest roar it could muster out of his poor lungs.

Wait, did Grimm have lungs? The sudden question was ignored as the group of five dodged the first strafe of feathers and started to move away from the clearing. Their main objective was fairly close as the old construction of the temple was nearby.

Leaving that section of the forest they quickly found the small circular room with the relics inside. Few moments later four other students reached the place, Jaune and Pyrrha among them and they all started to choose quickly their relics.

The foliage giving them enough time to elude the two Grimm for a while.

\-------------d-d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-d-d---------d-d-dd-d----------d-d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d----------

JNPR picked the four rooks just like in canon, while Blake and Yang went to pick what the blonde cheekily called ‘cute little ponies’ (the White Knights).

It was when Ruby, Weiss and I were meant to pick that I hesitated a little. While Weiss had spent the whole walk describing how the Rose had been all but a nag to her with her strange behavior and antagonistic attitude against the heiress, I felt a little doubtful about it all as I showed her that I was particularly skeptical with some of her depictions of the youngest of the students.

While the girl was hardly an exemplary individual, she hardly could be denoted as a creep. Maybe her Chibi version regarding her obsession with Weiss could deemed something like that, but this was ‘Canon’ and Ruby was a little more sweeter than her edgier Chi-by.

So when it was time for the two of us to pick, I decided that screwing with the timeline wasn’t worth the results. Sure, I would be more than happy to be paired with any of the team, but I could hardly bring myself to seriously shatter the good chemistry that canon gave in the two volumes.

So I gestured a surprised Ruby to pick the remaining Knight, much to a shell-shocked Weiss’ confusion. The Altesian girl opened her mouth but not a single sound left it and I was seriously contemplating that I might have caused her to go haywire.

I was about to pick another of the relics when I felt a strong tug at my arm, the white knight being presented to me by the quiet-looking Rose. “I-It is yours.” I blinked in surprise at the whisper but didn’t reply at first. The girl pressed the piece of chess on my chest and continued.

“Take it.” The imperative tone was met with more silence. What was I supposed to do with this predicament, especially with Weiss silently chanting me to take the offer.

Of course I wasn’t going to throw Ruby under the metaphorical bus (even if it was Truck-sama) in this important moment for the initiation and I was about to kindly refuse the offer when the entire structure trembled.

“We got company!” Nora exclaimed, deploying Magnhild in its grenade launcher form as JNPR rushed at the Death Stalker that had breached from the entrance, we five began to focus on the Nevermore roaring from the ruined ceiling.

Without hesitation we all rushed out of the small room and into the several stone bridges connecting the forest to this hanging structure that gave to the unknown. Picking different spots, we started to take shots at the approaching avian and I decided to switch to explosive magazines.

While the caliber of the M16 hardly matched with the other customized weapons, the aim with this little thing was insanely the best after Ruby’s Crescent Rose. Add the explosive rounds to the count and the bird was exploding a brilliant way.

But much like canon, the Grimm managed to dodge half of the shots and survive the rest as it crashed on the bridge we were standing on. While everyone easily to climb up some of the above pillars, I was lucky enough to be thrown in another bridge without much damage.

I watched as the four girls started with the plans they had adopted in the original script, preparing for Ruby to be launched at the flying fiend with her scythe and… it failed. Eyes wide open I stared at the Nevermore as its wing slammed around and sent strong guts that repelled the young girl away.

She landed safely back with the others as they all continued to barrage the bird onto the wall of the cliff once more. There wasn’t much to conceive out of so little data available over the area and I could understand why it was quite difficult to do much more than shooting it to ashes.

But I have a cunning plan. As cunning as a fox who’s just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University. (Yes, Blackadder is pure gold and it will go forth even in Remnant!) 

The cunningness was mostly made by the simplicity it presented by the innocuous similarity it shares with the tactical Deku plan. Electricity is my semblance, it is beautiful and awesome but its functionality was limited by how unprepared I was to use it under duress and how much opportunity it could give me in this predicament.

I remembered the same energy that flooded my hand when I sucker-punched that Beowolf off of Weiss and I started to channel it within my legs. Phase 1, charge up; Phase 2, super-jump!

Crouching I felt the energy spreading down to my feet, to my toes and- I surely jumped!

Is that a missile? Is that a constipated bird? No, it is a very scared Shaun Reyter trying to contribute to the team. While I was still fairly panicking at the sudden propulsion towards the cawing monstrosity, I managed to prim my arm for the killing blow as energy started to coat the whole limb.

By the time the Nevermore noticed the human-sized bullet directed on his way, it was too late to react and I pleasantly released the content held in my hand onto its strong torso while also letting out a powerful ‘SMAAAAAAAAAAAASH!’

The impact was… absolute. The part of its body which I had hit was forcibly pushed out onto the rock wall, crushing everything inside and instantly killing it. A last caw as the mighty beast fell to dark particles just like any of its kin.

Now that I had dealt with the greater evil, I was going to deal with the lesser one. Height wasn’t the issue in this situation, it was the lack of something to attach myself into without falling to the endless pit to the nothingness.

I may have let out a shrill _masculine_ scream as I was then falling to my ultimate death but was possibly glad that I was yanked up and away from the deadly fate and onto the pillar the girls were waiting by. As I landed on my butt, I turned to Blake with a pained look and nodded. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “You are welcome.”

Then the rest was… quite confusing. Yang exalted the whole insanity I just managed through sheer badassery (or mad luck), the bow-wearing girl smiled formally without giving too much feedback as the remaining two girls were quick to… actually check on my conditions.

“ You are slowly becoming a dolt, Shaun.” Weiss muttered with a scowl as she got me up from the floor. “I swear, I think I mistaken you as a smart person.” My pout at such cruel display of affection was enough to maker her feature soften up just a little as she sighed.

“ It was too much dangerous. You shouldn’t go that far for the target and-” “It was dumb.”

The Schnee and I stared a the serious looking Ruby as if she had grown a second head.

“ What?” I voiced our collective confusion at the Rose’s moment of sudden lucidity.

“ I-I mean.” She blushed a little at being called out so quickly. “W-While I might have done _few_ dangerous things-” The girl from Patch gulped nervously as our mutual frowns at that ‘few’ and continued. “I think that there was some… net of safety?” She turned to get some support from her sister and Yang gave her a thumb up. “Yeah, a net of safety.”

“ It was still dangerous and you both ran into that.” Weiss finished to lecture while raising an elegant brow. “What do you two have to say to motivate those foolish actions?”

I blinked.

Ruby blinked.

“ Your hair looks fresh?” I said with a big smile.

“ Your face is quite pretty?” Ruby said with a grin.

Surprisingly enough the dual attack worked wonders as Weiss, for the first time since the whole shenanigans had happened, went pure red in her face. And she turned to look away.

“ I-I appreciate, but I wasn’t talking about that, you morons.”

Sharing a sense of kinship, the Rose and I groaned at the failed attempt to avoid more lectures from the heiress.

\----------------d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-d-d--------------d-d-d-dd-------------d-d-d-dd-------------d-d-dd-d---

Weiss Schnee was incredibly tired.

The entire day spent in the Emerald Forest had drained her body and mind of any energy to do more but stand as the students were brought back to Beacon and led to the amphitheater room where the headmaster had provided them with the inauguration greeting to the Academy.

The place was filled with new and old students, all waiting to see the formation of the teams and… the Altesian girl would be lying if she didn’t voice the strongest of her concerns about this whole situation. She knew that Ruby and Shaun had shared a private chat about it all and that the Rose had kept her relic after this while also saying that they had a plan.

The plan was the real issue as she knew that the two creators were hardly trustworthy in making a non-dangerous plan especially with how they had ‘planned’ back during the initiation test. She wanted the boy in the team, even through she knew how awkward it would be for a male to be in a team with three other girls. The Schnee was now hoping for a miracle, unwilling to truly be partnered with Ruby, no matter how much she had ‘opened up’ during the test.

The initial impressions were still fresh on her mind and she frankly didn’t want to be put in a room with the incredibly energetic girl. But what would have happened to the girl if they had decided to switch up and leave Shaun as the heiress’ partner?

The question wouldn’t have mattered much to her if it had been asked few hours ago, but now that she knew that the caped female was not the stalker she had thought she was? Now that she knew that she had the potential to become a strong huntress?

What a difficult paradox to deal in a moment that was supposed to represent her success and solidify the first step towards her independence from Jacques Schnee. Just as she finished this thought, the headmaster called for her name and she walked to the stand together with Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose… and Shaun Reyter.

The rest of the school community started to mutter with each other, five students brought together in a team was something unheard off. With a mere glare from Goodwitch the room returned quiet and Ozpin started to explain what was going on.

“ After obtaining the four White Knights from the available relics, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long and Shaun Reyter are now going to form team RWBYS, Miss Rose shall be the team leader.”

...What?x2!

Weiss tried to get the attention of either Ruby or Shaun but the loud cheering with some confused muttering made it an impossible task. It took her few more minutes, when they were away from that room and well on their way to their dorm room. “What and how?”

They smiled, the Schnee frowned at the incoming headache as Ruby took the lead.

“ Two reasons: First, the headmaster thought that Shaun fit better in our team than placing him elsewhere.”

… “ And the second excuse?” The heiress asked with a frown at the seemingly good reason.

“ The name sounded cool.” Shaun muttered with a small smile. “We are RUBIES now.”

...Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out .

“ C’mon, Weissy. It could have gone a lot worse than this and… we got a little boy to tease.” Yang’s comment was met with mixed reactions, Shaun being the brightest of the blushing trio as Blake merely smiled at the entertaining teasing.

I-It could have gone worse. Yes, this situation wasn’t terribly bad. She managed to get what she wanted while also dodging some heavy guilt in the process and she would also be able to get to know more about this curious individual that was Shaun Reyter.

But while Weiss was satisfied with the team formation and all, she still felt compelled to ask about something that was stirring within her chest. Something about passion and need to prove-

“ But why Ruby is the leader?” They both opened their mouth, ready to answer and… stopped.

Shaun glanced at the Rose, which was trying to still catch up with that very detail herself and suggested something. “Didn’t she formulate the plan to kill the Nevermore?”

“ The one that failed, you mean.” He sighed as he patted the deflated caped girl as she let the unkind words sink in.

“ Rude and, if that is the case, it would have been me that would have taken the lead… but I think we can all accept the fact it wouldn’t make much of a difference wouldn’t it.”

The blonde nodded, same for the bow-wearing girl and Weiss was tempted to agree to this logic. Both were suicidal in their decision-making and exchanging one with the other would hardly make the difference in a team.

“ Plus I think Ruby is actually a charismatic girl if she is confident enough about it.” Now the Rose was blushing a storm and shaking her head at the flattering words.

“ T-That is not true-” “But you have a good relationship with the entire team and you can plan. I think there has to be something special if you manage to get a sound plan working with us all.”

This time the young girl didn’t reply as Yang joined in to praise her little sister ‘being super-cool’ and all, leaving Weiss to actually think about those words.

While those might be intended to be taken as compliments by some, the heiress knew better than not noticing the underline of the wording used to describe the girl. Ruby wasn’t some military genius… yet. What Shaun was hinting at was absurd but also sound with the examples brought forward, examples the Schnee had been part of.

The Rose was inexperienced in planning and mingling with people, but that was possibly because she was two years younger than the rest of the student. It is easy to forget that Ruby was 15 and had skipped two years of preparation, which should have handicapped her… a lot.

Two years of training are nothing to scoff at and, if the girl is capable of keeping up pretty well with the other students here, Weiss found it very easy to see her become as strong as Pyrrha if she continued with that growth pace.

She was a decent fighter for someone at Beacon, but it would be foolish to ignore no one at her age should be able to keep up with students at the Huntsmen Academies. This was… unique.

The heiress could see why Shaun was keen to push her towards her. To obviously show her how much potential the girl had.

Yes, it would seem that Ruby Rose is someone else the heiress will have to keep an eye on. Maybe she could also learn about her… strange vibes.

Speaking of strange, when the door to their dorm room was slammed open, they found themselves staring at the place and… it was a mess.

The classic four beds were badly put, there was hardly space to move around and- _there were only four beds_ .

Shaun blinked.

Weiss and Ruby looked at him silently.

“ I will sleep on the floor-” The boy stated with confidence, only to be rebuffed.

“ You can take my bed-” “You can sleep with me-” Weiss and Ruby suggested at the same time, sparking the first of the many minor fights between the two girls during the whole year.

By the end of the day, Shaun managed to calm them down and sleep on the floor with their pillows. It might sound un-gentlemanish, but the threat of bickering going for the rest of the night was enough to make him take a compromise.

Nothing mattered more to a tired man other than sleep. 


	3. Back to Basics

Sleep was an uneventful affair for Blake Belladonna. The mattress and the white sheets that were hers to use to rest were surprisingly comfy to the touch and a certain upgrade compared to her previous sleeping means. Beacon was already giving her a better outlook of her future, something that was merely promised by the White Fang.

The organization has long tried to keep up a decent living standards for all its members, but just like her father did before turning it in a world-wide group, Sienna Khan failed to find a proper source of income to uphold the very promises that had bolstered her rise through the ranks. Too many mouths to satisfy, too little food available to them to use.

Even Vacuo had turned hostile to the cause after the sudden growth of violent activities, cutting off most of the contacts the moment it realized that this whole development was starting to further destabilize the Kingdom. Nothing managed to lift away the ban of trading they shared now, limiting the White Fang to search equipment and resources in illegal ways.

Mistral and Vale were the two viable options compared to the unstable Vacuo and the tight-borders of Atlas. Both nations had their respective Underworlds, the heart of proper criminal cohesion in a society, and both were easy to infiltrate. Deals were struck, minor alliances were signed and… there was still an issue related to money.

The Lien was needed to pay for the resources they required to survive, to engage some mercenaries to help in scrambling pacific strikes for the sake of turning those violent, and to finance the propaganda machine that was running smoothly in Menagerie.

All in the name of… justice. The word ‘Equality’ had long been slashed out from the vocabulary of the organization, attaching to it the words ‘Weak’ and ‘Submissive’. A political move that served to stroke the egos of the more radical elements of the group. A move that had costed a lot to Sienna to maintain as most of the old guard deserted almost immediately at the sudden change of regime.

The tiger Faunus was violent, moderate in certain topics, but always had the thirst to leave a ‘permanent’ scar on the world. A twist to bring attention on them, a way to finally stand above the grand table of the Kingdoms.

The pompous strut was chided quickly, several Kingdoms raising the funds on their military budget as their councils introduced several restrictions to Faunus. At first it was just harmless laws, like the implementation of further examinations prior to give the permits to buy and own guns.

Silly laws, meant to give major display that ‘the councils cared’ about their people’s safety, but eventually started a dumb escalation. The first strike that got disrupted was one of the last Blake had been part of before deciding against partaking in others.

Why the Belladonna started to trust the safety of those rallies? She could still remember the terrible smell of smoke, coupled with the screams of people as the Mistralian armed police tried and failed to keep the strike pacific and safe. It started when a radical element managed to smuggle in a simple handgun, taking aim and killing instantly one of the agents by shooting at his head.

The retaliation was brutal, several deaths and numerous wounded were found and taken in proper buildings to be treated. The White Fang tried to deny its direct influence, but failed to justify the membership ID the captured criminal was sporting so proudly around the event.

While the public outcry was mixed, bashing both the government and the organization for how things had been dealt with, it was ultimately the Faunus-only group that got a bad hand from fate. Mistral reacted quickly, ‘lecturing’ the military officers that were leading the efforts of quarantine and at the same time praising their ‘bravery’ in solving things before a revolution would have started.

Other flash points happened in the following years, none ever reaching a dangerous spike of violence as this very one. It was a logical fear the possibility of dealing with the full might of the four Kingdoms. Brazen and foolish, Sienna was still a smart individual to not push the line, keeping things to acceptable levels when it was possible and doable.

People still died, but never in large numbers. Atlas was the one that was hit the worst by this new era of rebellions as the miners were more than eager to join sides with the new White Fang. Ignorance breeds Hatred, Hatred breeds Violence. The mines were a foul circle of the staunchest supporters of the hardline politics of the group and quickly rushed to support any action against the semi-absolute government ruling over the northern region.

Speaking of Atlas, Blake was utterly surprised when she had first spotted Weiss Schnee at Beacon. The Cat Faunus would have expected the heiress of the SDC to keep within Atlas’ borders, just like her older sister had done by picking Atlas Academy. And yet the more she tried to understand the reasoning behind this choice, the more she remained baffled by the mysterious undertone that kept in her composed voice.

The secrecy was infuriating, the Belladonna finding the irony of this even more irking, and not even the brief interactions she had managed to get out from being close to the petite girl while she chatted to the male partner gave her any hints of this very situation. It actually left her with even more questions.

Finding the idea of dealing with a headache this early in the morning, Blake shifted her focus to another individual that gained interest by merely being… mediocre. Shaun Reyter was an Altesian, his accent and mannerism in several situations further cementing this matter… and yet his clothes and curious lack of knowledge to some topics of the Kingdom that the Belladonna had learned from spying at his Scroll’s search history as he was browsing around the system left her perplexed.

It was a gut feeling, one that further grew the moment the boy proved to be essential in bringing down the Nevermore during the Initiation Test. A powerful Semblance, one the youth seemed to be inexperienced to use… something strange from someone that had supposedly studied under an experienced huntsman.

Even more intriguing was the fact… he stared at her. Or better, his eyes would glance at the bow that was always sitting on her head. The mere theory that he _knew_ of her heritage was something that was terrifying, especially since he was:  
1) Altesian;  
2) Partnered with a Schnee;  
3) She was in the team with him AND the Schnee;

Fate was having a blast screwing the Cat Faunus so suddenly and early on over her cover. Now she had to be careful in keeping her ‘ears’ to twitch less than usual to avoid being noticed. Her mind settling that his staring was merely suspicious, not even close to a sure deduction.

Yet in all of this Blake could count on a ‘trustworthy’ and ‘good’ ally, the words used loosely there, in one Yang Xiao Long. The blonde had been swift in not only introducing herself, but also try to worm herself in the Belladonna’s cold mask and inside her softer core. Very flirty, but not enough for the Faunus to be annoyed by it. She knew how to make friends and ‘friends’ and the brawler seemed to have taken a special interest on her.

Blake shifted in her sheets, glancing at the edge of the bed that gave to the center of the room. The beds had yet to be well-placed, being mostly divided in two pairs close to each other while leaving the middle of the room unoccupied. 

Amber eyes glanced curiously at the only boy in the team, sleeping quietly as he continued to strangely hug close one of the pillows the Schnee and Ruby had offered to him. A weird position, but one that was possible related to the fact he was… affectionate? He was merely hugging the pillow, not making out with it nor doing anything even remotely indecent with it. The Belladonna had long accepted the idea to not judge people on suggestive scenes, preferring to get an explanation first before truly pass judgment.

A moral she embraced the moment she accepted the glorious tome that was ‘Ninja of Love’. Seriously, how does a single author manage to pack love, smut and action all at once without ruining the plot?

Yet her musing ceased as she found her attention drawn to a detail she had almost missed in her first gazing. It was a bright, red spot just fixed by the boy’s pillow. The curtains were red, so it was normal for some optical illusion to happen in that situation and yet… Blake’s mind smoothly decided the next action, ignoring the possible consequences.

The Cat Faunus slowly took position, crouching on the mattress as she directed her body at her infuriating target. She took a sigh, gave a little prayer and then-

…

**Thud**

“GAH! Why?!”

The scream of pain woke up the rest of the team, their eyes staring at the strangest scene possible to get so early in the morning. Blake froze as she felt their stares on her, keeping the boy pressed on the pillow.

_**Shaun Reyter was stuck between something soft and something softer** _ .

\-------------d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d---------------d-dd-d-d------------d-d-d-d-d-----d-d-d-d---

Weiss Schnee was still trying to make sense of what had just happened few minutes ago. Blue eyes stared down with incredible disappointment at the Belladonna as she scampered off the heiress’ suffering partner, explaining how she had  _ slipped off her bed and landed on Shaun’s unconscious body _ . 

The Schnee didn’t blink an eye as she knew that this was simply too convenient of a lie to be possible. You cannot _ slip _ off a bed and surprisingly land half a meter off from it. That was ludicrous, unacceptable and…

She sighed as she finished to treat properly her hair and face, leaving the bathroom to a waiting Yang Xiao Long. Shaun had gone first and swiftly left it to Ruby, then Weiss and now it was the blonde’s turn.

The Belladonna had been ‘punished’ by having to use the bathroom last, leaving her to spend some more moments to try and further convince the young man of the credibility of her story. Shaun was blinking distractedly, his attention drawn to a book as she continued to speak and…

It was somewhat ironic. Weiss could remember when she had seen the black-haired beauty donning her Kimono-like nightgown the night before the initiation test, how she would hardly pay any attention to people talking to her as she continued to read ‘The man with Two Souls’ with reserved interest.

Now the situation had flipped and yes, the Schnee was finding this development oddly satisfying. Patient in keeping herself from escalating anymore the previous engagements with the other girls was slowly but surely paying off in the end.

Except for a small detail…

“So, should we renovate the room?”

Weiss lifted a confused brow. “What?”

“The room looks… boring.” Ruby explained again. “We could try and change the disposition of the beds and… yeah.” She ended with a nervous note, which the Altesian girl replied with a sigh.

“It depends...” _If said disposition is meant to keep you from annoying me while I am sleeping_.

Not that the Rose had tried anything funny as the Heiress slept in her bed, but the sound of rustling as the younger female tried to approach the limit that divided her bed to hers ushered her to find solace by the other edge of the mattress.

Sleeping with her face staring right at the happy-looking boy was… strangely comforting. Maybe it was the silly smile on his face, maybe it was the way he kept hugging the pillow closer to his chest (which she hoped was hers) or maybe because she wasn’t bothered anymore that night by Ruby after her logical reaction.

After Yang and Blake had finished with their own morning rituals, it was time to address the issue the team leader had brought forward to her: Beds and Room displaying.

While she had staunchly opposed the foolish idea of making the beds into bunk-beds (something she had dreamed to have as a child but decided against for… serious reasons), the Heiress found herself strongly opposed by the rest of the team. Eyes wide open in surprise as she was shocked by the fact Shaun had joined in to this idea was quickly soothed by some quick explanation.

“Bunk-beds free a large amount of space that could be used for… my bed and other stuff-”

“Like a TV!” Ruby quipped in with a giggle.

“Or a mini-bar.” Yang joked with a chuckle.

Good suggestions and the idea of a Dust Workshop to produce bullets on-demand within the school was an endearing one. A way to set up some income in case her father decided to freeze her bank account for some reason, while also establishing a spy network within Beacon.

If her mind remembered correctly, the School’s Bylaws didn’t forbid such possibility and the only reason none of the students had tried to do this was more of a personal economic barrier. Something Weiss didn’t have to worry about with her current funds.

‘Surrendering’ to the idea, she started to help around the moving of the beds, helping to set Ruby’s right above hers and further ‘damning’ herself to her close proximity for the rest of their time in Beacon. Shaun’s presence further reduced much of the effort and time required, as they finished the crude operation just in time to ran to lesson.

As they passed by the door that led to Team JNPR’s dorm, the fifth member of our team paused a moment to knock. “You are going to be late!” He quickly resumed his chase as the door slammed open, four individuals falling on the ground as Jaune voiced out their common thought. “L-Late?!”

Minutes passed as they all went quickly to the classroom for… Grimm’s Studies. 

The Heiress had faced numerous tutors the moment she started to practice fencing and, not matter how boring some might have sounded in describing the theory behind the art of using rapiers in fighting, Professor Peter Port was a professional in making the very first lesson of the subject, which is supposed to be the easiest in the entire curriculum here, to fit more in a torture chamber.

While the words were aptly chosen and the action was there to those who actually listened, it was his lack of ‘proper’ emotion in the bits that were more interesting to follow. He would highlight parts of the story that hardly took anyone’s attention, bringing less interest in following such a messy disposition.

Except for one.

Shaun raised his hand, catching the portly teacher’s attention. “Yes, Mr. Reyter?”

“You mentioned that the Beowolf you slayed managed to claw through strong stone walls, isn’t that something only their Alpha version could do?”

...What? Weiss blinked in surprise when she heard his first intervention, feeling like the questions was important and… she had missed the information that could add further context on it.

The old huntsman smiled at this and nodded. “Indeed, young man! The Beowolf was an Alpha, good to know that someone finally listens.” He seemed to be tearing apart for a moment and for some reason the Schnee felt guilty for having disrespected the revered Huntsman by getting distracted.

Ruby stopped doodling, her silver eyes taken back to the lessons as more interventions were made. Yang joined soon, lilac eyes looking back and forth between her team-member and teacher. Blake was the one that changed the least, now glancing up from her book once in a while, an interested expression adorning her face.

Half an hour passed and finally Professor Port stopped with his tale, getting some ovation from the students that had managed to pay attention. The man trembled a little in newfound joy, bringing a hand near his eyes as he recomposed himself.

“And now let us step to the most interesting bit of today’s lesson.” The teacher stated cheerfully. “But first I wish to have a volunteer- Mr. Reyter, do you wish to show us to the class how to deal with a live Grimm?”

The cage near the portly man shook as the beast contained within it slammed on its reinforced gate. Everyone was now looking at Shaun, the boy looking hesitant for a moment before he shook his head. “I don’t think I am ready yet equipment-wise, Professor.” He then turned his eyes away from the teacher and… onto her?

“But I would suggest my partner, Weiss, for the demonstration.” Blue eyes blinked as the heiress was surprised by this sudden development while also feeling flattered by the fact her partner felt that she could manage through the test. Plus it was extra credits.

“An interesting choice and I find myself agreeing to the fact Miss Schnee would be the best choice in this circumstance but...” The old man smiled even more. “Could you explain why you picked her out of the rest of your team?”

The boy nodded. “While Ruby is capable of move from close to long range, Crescent Rose might have some trouble to fight in such a small arena. Yang would probably take too long in finishing it off because she would play around-”  _ “Hey! _ ” “-and I think Blake would prefer to keep reading the book about Grimm.”

The Belladonna blushed at the lie, the professor merely glancing her way and nodding at her ‘choice’ which wasn’t anyway close to school-things. It was a novel but… that is inconsequential!

“But what about Ms. Schnee? Please could you define the reasoning that made her the best choice?”

Shaun blinked but nodded again. “Weiss’ Myrtenaster is made to deal optimally in close spaces and her Glyphs made her capable of moving smoothly around the very limited arena and… I know that she would kill it quickly and without any issue.”

That last part was… flattering. Not many people had ever praised her fighting capacity and brought up her qualities in such an interesting pattern. She smiled and nodded at the request. “I accept, Professor.”

The teacher nodded and, as the heiress walked towards the lockers by the side of the room to recover her battle dress and weapon, she managed to hear another question and answer.

“But what about the Grimm, young man. What do you think it could be?”

A moment of pause followed, then the fifth member of Team RWBYS replied. “A Boarbatusk.”

The professor clapped visibly happy at the answer. “A correct deduction! I bet it was the noise it was making, way obvious compared to Ursas and Beowolfs.”

Weiss collected her equipment and reached for the mini-arena, preparing for the session as her mind replayed constantly the words of her male partner, lifting her determination in proving those right.

The teacher broke the mechanism holding the gate close and the Boarbatusk slammed away from the cage, its furious eyes directed at her. Her mind instantly picked up the information she had studied of this type of Grimm, its weakness and its dreadful Quick Form.

Surprisingly enough, instead of using its infamous form, the fiend rushed at her like a common Boar, squealing loudly for blood as it prepared its tusks to sink in her body. But it never stood a chance as it walked right on a glyph Weiss had set on the floor, springing right as it jumped above it.

**Slink!**

A pained squeal was the last thing it muttered as the pike of ice pierced through the weak point in its chest, killing it instantly. Dark mist took its form away, leaving just the large pike to fade away with the glyph.

“A brilliant and swift action, that is what a true Huntress should strive to achieve in every situation!”

Everyone clapped her way, her ears catching Ruby’s cheerful praising through the rest of the room. A little annoying to hear but her good mood managed to get her through it all without getting irked away from the glorious demonstration. Weiss looked up at Shaun and he nodded at her with a smile as he clapped together with the rest of the classroom.

She smiled too, but hers was caused by the sudden realization that… this was her true first step for her own destiny and she liked it.

\-------------d-d-d-dd--------------d-d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-d--------d-d-d-d-d-----

Ruby Rose was enjoying the fact that Weiss didn’t seem that much opposed to have her take a seat beside hers as they all took their places in the cafeteria. Lunch had began just as Professor Port’s lesson had come to an end, giving them some relief after the theory-packed three hours they had endured all at once.

Shaun was sitting right on Weiss’ left, completing the bench as Yang and Blake sat on the opposite bench. Her belly was ready to be filled with delicious dishes that the cooking staff at Beacon were going to dispense quite soon. Just as they continued to wait for the food to be prepared, Yang decided to start some discussion.

“So I would have ‘played around’ with the Grimm, Shay?” The blonde asked jokingly.

The boy frowned. “Shay? And… yes, I think you would have done that.”

“Shaun is kind of a mouthful name, plus it could be confused with Jaune’s.” Yang explained and then they all glanced at the table where JNPR was sitting, the team completely drowning out the outside as they chatted amiably with each other without a care of the world.

“I guess… I could accept that.” A little victory, the Rose nodded to herself as she tried to proceed with her newest plan to gain Weiss’ attention. Since ‘beating’ their mutual partner wouldn’t be a productive action, she decided that he would easily work as an indirect mean to further increase her success rate.

Yes, Shaun Reyter will work as the unaware wingman! The magazine had explained that the ‘Wingman’ was someone, a close friend, that would help in making the chances of winning the affection of her possible new friend higher than she could normally afford.

This time, with someone that she knew was smooth enough to be able to hold a conversation with the heiress without getting some bad comment back, Ruby felt that this plan was actually going to work. It was going to be a long-term plan, but one that will bear the fruits of her hardwork… plus a large effort from the young man. 

“S-So Shaun.” The caped girl started with a brief stutter. “What do you think of… guns?”

The boy tilted his head in surprise as the question was not something he had expected and the furtive glance Yang was throwing at her suggested that she had indeed messed up for a first contact.

“Well, I do know enough to realize that Crescent Rose it truly a masterwork of a gun.” 

... _ What? _

The sudden response made her metaphorically trip on herself as she felt her mind completely caught off guard. She had not expected to have a positive answer that praised her baby sniper. The Rose blushed at the words and nodded. “I-It’s not that impressive-”

“But it is.” He pressed with a small smile. “To be able to create high-velocity sniper mixed with a flexible scythe at… how old you were then? 12, 13?”

“I- I was 13 but-” “13?! That is amazing!”

At this point Ruby was trying to bury herself within her own cape, the flattering words starting to make her heat up way more than she needed. At least Weiss was smiling genuinely at her, a sympathetic look combined with an awed one as she addressed her.

“Wait a moment, Shay-boy, could you stop hitting on my sister?” Yang decided to intercede, seeing the opportunity to counter-tease the boy from praising her younger sibling too much.

“I-” He froze, his eyes widening. “W-Wha-” He stopped once more, his face taking a bright red as the Xiao Long giggled at her successful move.

“So you **can** blush?” She giggled again. “I bet it’s the first time someone bring the **heat** back at you.”

His eyes were now locked on the table, trying to bring down the embarrassing sensation and… Blake and Weiss shared a rare moment of teaming together against a common threat. If Yang was starting to tease people, it was time to intervene and avoid that she could target them all individually.

“Is someone getting jealous, Xiao Long?” The question coming from the Altesian girl managed to unbalance the high pedestal from where Yang was cheekily chuckling, the brawler pausing in surprise at the sudden jab.

“I would say that it is indeed the case, Weiss. Are you hiding something from us, partner?”

Feeling like she was facing a pincer move, the blonde tried to laugh it away but her face could hardly vanish the red spots forming in her cheeks. She sighed and smiled again once she felt like she had recovered enough to reply.

“Well, if that is the case… how about a bet, Shay-boy?”

The young man blinked. “What.. kind of bet are you talking about?”

“Nothing too strange…” Yang quickly confirmed as she continued. “Since our first Combat Lesson is going to be a training session at the school’s gym, what if I challenge you to who manages to make 120 push-ups the fastest possible?”

Shaun paled a little and Ruby shivered a little at the high number for that tiring exercise. She could remember when Yang had tried to pull her into making physical exercises a hobby for her, failing miserably as the Rose is hardly good enough with anything that straining.

“A-And the winner gets?” 

A feral smile appeared in her face. “The winner picks the place to spend the night with the loser and… the latter pays!”

…Ruby frowned at this. “Yang, isn’t that going to be a… date?” Two friends spending a night together is… a date? The Magazine had explained something like this but… she couldn’t remember exactly.

At her sister’s interruption, the Xiao Long froze once more, this time realizing that it sounded a lot like a date now that she thought about it. She blinked once, then twice, her cheeks flushing more than before as the embarrassment was beyond moments earlier.

Weiss was stomped at this situation while Blake was merely staring at this development like a spectator that watches a movie- and where did she gets those pop-corns?

“I-I mean, not like that- but-” “It’s okay.” The blonde paused and the girls stared at the only boy.

“I don’t have much money and I wouldn’t be able to pay up for the bet so… I don’t think it can be done.”

… “Oh?” Yang blinked, her panic vanishing instantly at those words. It was hard enough to keep boys from hounding her because she had some decency but she had risked pulling a date with someone her sister seemed interested into. Now that was a deadly zone she didn’t want to be near to.

“T-Then I guess the challenge is off? Hehehe...”

The discussion finished with a quiet note as food finally arrived and everyone rushed to pick the portions of their favorite dishes. Soon the chattering resumed for the rest of the cafeteria, leaving just RWBYS to eat the content of their plates in silence.

\---------------d-d-d-dd------------------d-d-d-d-d------------------d-d-d-d-----------------d-d-d-dd-----------d-d-d-d----

Yang Xiao Long was feeling quite dumb as she finished her first set of Push-ups. 

Professor Goodwitch had been quite clear that there wasn’t a definite training schedule and that they were free to use the ones they were best accustomed with. The blonde was glad that she wasn’t dealing with some new plans as she continued to think about the ‘cafeteria incident’.

Sure, she had recovered well enough from that little situation she had brought upon herself… but that was still embarrassing in her mind. How could she pull such a smooth move, with a flirty voice too, with someone she had long decided to leave to her sister… or her partner?

Those thoughts were indeed troubling and soon the world faded in gray as she continued automatically go through her usual routine. 

Why would she think about going on a date with him? Not that he had anything against him, but she had been steering to try and win over the amber-eyed, bow-wearing beauty she had met from day one. Blake was hot, smart and probing at her personality even more, the blonde had started to realize that the prize was worth the effort.

And by effort there was also some genuine interest in the pursuit. If she decided to pull such a move and show that she wasn’t ‘truly genuine’ with her willingness in interacting with the bookworm, she sure had her entire plan standing on some frail and unforgiving line.

A line that would add up with the one she would dare to break with her sister if Ruby was truly interested in this Shaun Reyter. It wasn’t a clear sight as the little Rose was showing to be unpredictable with how she reacted around people, her relationship with Weiss ambiguous and confusing the best of times.

Maybe she was merely confusing friendship for one case, maybe for another… maybe for both and it was starting to grate on her mind. Seriously, why wouldn’t her young sister just be clear for once with what she wanted in her life? It would ease up her job as the eldest and help her help Ruby.

But this was not the case and the Xiao Long had to accept the idea that the caped girl was incredibly confusing with her social skills. A blessing that was also a curse if not properly bloomed and… Yang needed to have some hints to help with specific predicaments.

Ruby seemed to be trying to keep this to herself and that rendered the brawler’s efforts almost futile. She sighed as she finished with the third set of Squats, her ears catching someone calling her name and, as she turned, she groaned inwardly at whom it was.

“Yang, can you help me with this?” Shaun was trying to make a weight lifting bench… without having removed the limiter. She approached him, surprised that the boy was impressively holding his sight on her face and never glancing on her sweaty body.

She was wearing a yellow tank-top with an opening on the mid-riff that showed to the world her powerful abs. The results of years of training under a strict father like Taiyang Xiao Long had led her to develop such a sign of strength.

With a sigh, her hands went to the limiter and removed it as the weights were finally released for the young man to train with. His eyes widened in surprise but he was quickly pulling down the bar connected to the three slabs of iron. Yang blinked as she noticed that the team-member was having trouble with the current level and she noticed that it had been set on 100Kg, sighing at such a rookie mistake.

“Hey, Shay-boy, stop a moment.” He complied, a confused look painted on his face as Yang lowered the weight to 80Kg. “Try now.”

The change was sudden and Shaun’s eyes widened in surprise and relief at the more than needed change. He tried up to twenty before letting go, his breath a little bit winded but still going strong. 

“That was fun.” 

The blonde smiled at this and nodded. “Yeah, it is fun. That is why I tried to get Ruby to join us but-”

But she chose to go to run some laps by the running section just outside the building with Weiss. The last time she had seen them being few minutes ago as a tired Weiss Schnee dragged away with a chirpy Ruby following behind.

Blake was currently lazying in her training, doing minimal exercises as she continued to be taken by the book in her hands. Yang had tried to pry her out of that but… the results were a confusing mess of hisses and ‘Go Away’.

Seriously, there are moments that the Xiao Long felt like she was dealing with a cat and not her partner…

“I bet it’s rough, Ruby isn’t much of a… brawn-type of girl.” The blonde shrugged at the reply taking a seat on the bench close to his. 

“I guess a gun-junkie cannot stray too far from that and… it’s not that bad.”

“Also.” He paused just a moment, then he sighed tiredly. “I know that you were kidding with the whole ‘date’ bet and… I want to help you.”

Yang blinked as she felt her body tense at the mentioning of that ‘cafeteria incident’. “What do you intend with… help?”

“You want Blake.” He stated clearly to her. “But you are having trouble to get around her shell, aren’t you?”

She huffed. “That is not true.” Her lilac eyes frowned at him as… he smiled.

“You know that when you try to bluff your voice lowers its tone?” He pointed out cheekily. “But if you don’t want any help, I guess you got everything under control-”

“Okay, I _might_ have some trouble but… I don’t think I need a wingman. I- I am fine doing this alone and-”

“You know that there is no need to prolong this or-”

“- _but_ I would appreciate some involvement.” Yang muttered quietly. “I need some involvement.”

…

He blinked and tilted his head quietly.

“Okay.”

…

“W-What?” She questioned loudly. “Just like that?”

Shaun shrugged. “Sure. I mean, I think you would do well together.”

“A crazy cat-like person and a professional animal party?” She chuckled. “I guess there is some fun irony there.”

“I mean more in the emotional scale. You both would need it.” He stated cryptically.

The blond looked confused. “Oh really? And how do you know ‘Emotional scales’.”

He stared at her for a while, blinking silently and then- “I don’t know, I just do.”

… “That was anti-climatic...”

…

“ **That was what she said!** ”

They paused a moment to stare at each other, having repeated the same words.

“ **Damn it, Jinx-** ”

The attempt to break away from that situation failed.

“ **No, dangit!** ”

They stopped and… Shaun spoke tiredly. “I think the alliance is now sealed.”

“With the power of sharing that crazy moment?” Yang smiled widely. “I guess that works too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN  
> This is going well… I guess. Weiss love duly-noted praises, Ruby is a cinnamon roll that get easily embarrassed (same for Shaun), Yang is afflicted by the troubles of real love and Blake is showing her cat self.  
> Also I started a JoJo’s story. I wonder if I can rule Za Warudo there...


	4. Of Dreams and Truth

Silver eyes opened to a bright blue sky as the calm sound of the sea brought one Ruby Rose out of her slumber. Blinking once, then twice, the girl tried to recollect whatever last memory of the previous day she could muster up and…

She was sure that she didn’t go to sleep anywhere near a beach. Nor she could remember having put on a dark-red bikini and…

Ruby blinked again, her eyes fixed right on her chest and… something was wrong. Narrowing her eyes at the phenomenon, one of her fingers lifted from its pleasant seat to poke at the curious case. This had to be a joke, maybe Yang wanted to trick her about a ‘sudden growth’ again and...

**Boing**

...Oh?

**Boing**

**Boing**

This… This is not what she had thought to be. Eyes widened in shock as she realized that her chest had got bigger overnight, Ruby Rose felt her cheeks exploding with heat while a small smile started to increase the moment the realization continued to sink deeper in her brain.

She was about to celebrate this newest development when she finally heard a melodious giggle by her side and-

“What are you doing, Ruby?” An _older_ and _more gorgeous_ Weiss Schnee asked with an amused tone. She was wearing a white cream bikini, her pale skin lightly tanner than previously as the usually caped girl couldn’t but stare at her… legs. At least until the same giggle brought her out of her _admiration_.

If her cheeks had previously threatened to explode, now her face was burning a fiery red as embarrassment and pleasure smashed together, her brain slowly failing to grasp on her logical thoughts as the situation escalated more and more.

Ruby tried to bring some stability to her mind but her attention was swiftly taken away when she felt a soft finger circle on her red cheek. The heiress retreated with some… chocolate? D-Did she eat too much cookies again?

Oh no, she was going to be scolded again by Weiss!-

“Hmm~ Delicious.” The girl’s body stilled as her partner brought the finger to her lips and… uhhhhhhhh!

Steam was now threatening to leave her ears as her whole head was burning at the idyllic scene that some deity had decided to bestow her. Was this the future? Was this proof that she was finally going to befriend the Schnee and be… happy?!

Ruby restrained herself from squeaking happily at this very notion. This kind of friendship was just like the one she had read in the magazine with all its details!

Maybe if she asked now, Weiss would… hug her? She was now vibrating at the idea of getting close to the girl and now it was possible-

“I am back!” A familiar masculine voice proclaimed as footsteps approached the two. An open sleeveless shirt with a green-on-white hawaiian pattern revealed an athletic built and the blue swimsuit showed some strong legs that were owned by… Shaun Reyter?

“I hope the line wasn’t too long, dear.” Weiss said with a happy voice as their mutual partner placed the plate with three drinks at the end of the stretcher the heiress was using to rest. Without muttering much of a chuckle, Shaun crouched closer to the girl and brought his face to hers…

Ruby’s eyes widened as their lips touched and… they continued to kiss for a while.

Was this a nightmare? While S-Shaun was a good person, it felt weird to see him doing such thing to Weiss… and yet he was the closest to her nowadays. Was this proof that she was  **going to lose** ?

Panic continued to riddle her reasoning and she hardly perceived as Shaun turned to look at her, an amused expression painted on his face as he walked up to her and brought his hand to her face.

“It would seem like someone had another accident with cookies.” Her mouth twitched in silent fury, her brain going full reboot as his thumb removed some chocolate smearing her cheek. Then he stopped, his eyes fixed on her… lips?

She felt a shiver going through her back as his face lowered on hers and…

_**She opened her eyes to her dorm room’s ceiling** _ .

Ruby blinked, looking down on her body and- yep, she was back from that dream. Part of her wanted to sigh in relief at the fact he hadn’t actually got a second kiss out of her but… she was pouting.

The reason why she felt this much irked at the sudden ending eluding her brain but she felt that maybe she could have  _ endured _ the kiss from her rival just to get some affection from Weiss too. The opportunity gone to waste, silver eyes darted to her scroll, safely placed on a spot of her bed where it wouldn’t get the chance to fall. She turned it on and looked at the hour-

**4:58AM**

Her hands went to her face as she let out a muffled groan. So much for her plans of getting some more hours of rest for this important day. Today was going to have the first spar of the year and… she was going to show to her team how much she was reliable… and strong… and quick.

That and also get some good marks for Weiss. While the most of the subject graded students individually, Combat Training and Simulation used a team-based marking which helped in the overall consolidation of the teams.

The day before had seen her preparing Crescent Rose with a proper cleaning session while also adding some new mods to it to increase the fire-rate and the switch-time between sniper and scythe forms.

Ruby yawned as her mind wanted some more sleep but… it was time to get up. Now that she thought about it, the task of waking everyone up was something that had been taken upon by the only boy of the team… which was still sleeping. He was twitching and shifting in the pillows, but he was still far from fully waking up.

But what if the little Rose decided to do this job herself that day? What if she showed Weiss she was a reliable person? She nodded at the solid plan, slowly getting off her upper bed and getting ready to- But what if she found her annoying if she woke her up.

Ruby stopped mere moments from approaching the silently sleeping Weiss Schnee, the Altesian girl had a minuscule smile as she snuggled to her pillow and enjoying the warmth of her covers. If her leader decided to disrupt her rest, would she find it annoying or acceptable?

Doubts filled her mind and, as the girl turned around to try and wake Shaun to get some advice, she lost her footing as she tripped on a pen on the ground. A quick ‘eep’ left her throat as she fell on the floor, her face… quite close to his own and… she frowned.

There was no smile nor grin in his face, a trembling scowl as the boy continued to shake on his sleep. Panic reached deep in her mind as she felt that… she could do something. Yes, as a team leader, she was going to help his partner away from the nightmares!

Standing sitting near to him, she evaluated what she could do about this predicament and several solutions were brought up by her brain.

Hugging was a big no-no for several reasons. Shaun was still sleeping and god knows how many time she had seen in TV series how sleeping people reacted to intimate contacts like that one. Frankly, Ruby didn’t want to be caught by someone else in her team stuck in a hug with Shaun.

Yang would murder him… and her too.

Then as she thought about her older sister, she remembered something the blonde would do when she was upset about something or someone. The older girl would place her head on her lap and start to caress her hair until she started to get sleepy, incredibly calm and relaxed.

She nodded, a small smile creeping in her face as she remembered those few moments when her sister would help her out of some… unimportant sad stuff, yes.

Mind set on what she should do, Ruby started to slowly coax Shaun’s head on her lap and… what was she supposed to do now. His head was warm and adding up to the embarrassing situation she just thrown herself into.

Theory is fun, practice is not as much. Her hand hovered above him, hesitation evident as she didn’t know how to truly begin this… stuff. She wasn’t good at this!

Gulping nervously, the Rose got hold of her own panic and started to slowly bring her hand to his hair and… she patted him.  _ She was patting him and _ .

“Hm.” He was getting up. Frick!

Mustering what was left of her courage, she began to… caress his hair like she could remember Yang doing with her. Slow, steady and, most importantly, relaxed.

Silence filled the following few moments as her brain was chilling at the possibility that Shaun was going to wake up with this and…  _ his hair are quite soft. _

She hummed quietly as she picked her pace a little, enjoying the fluffy sensation that his curly locks were having at her touch and finally he started to snore quietly.

‘Yes!’ Ruby’s smile twitched as she started to get a hold over this curious interaction. It was nowhere as intimate as a hug but it had some pleasant notes similar to it. She let out a sigh as she continued the enjoy the moment for a while.

Her eyelids closed a little at the relaxing effect this was having on her and-

“What are you doing?”

The Rose froze, paling as she recognized immediately as she slowly turned around to see an annoyed Weiss Schnee, hair untied and falling free behind her head and a long light-blue nightgown as a nightwear.

“I… I can explain?”

\------------d-d-dd-----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-dd----------d-d-d-

Yang Xiao Long was giddy at today’s first lesson at Beacon.

Professor Goodwitch looked quite calm, her stern glances keeping everyone from growing too distracted about her explanation of her subject. 

“-I will not accept anything even remotely close to a joke during a fight. This is a serious discipline and I expect each of you to know about the importance of the rules of engagement.”

Everyone nodded at those words, the blonde feeling like she was turning back a child that was about to fight in her first spar. She could remember landing a punch square on her father’s below-the-belt zone. His reaction had been amusing when she had seen it the first time but the mere thought now was both embarrassing and oddly flinch-inducing.

Anyway, the teacher presented the tags with the names of the first spars of that day and… Yes! She was in it and… against a Cardin Winchester? Her mind was having a hard time connecting the name to the student’s face. Maybe it was… someone that she had not seen in the initiation test? It was a wild guess, but it seemed the closest thing to the truth so she rolled with it.

“It would seem like you are up against Arc, Shaun.” Weiss muttered quietly to her male partner.

Lilac eyes blinked in surprise as she indeed spotted the tag with the two boys’ names.

Speaking of the ‘curious trio’, Yang was still unsure what had happened to the female component of the group as the Ice Queen had seemingly started to glare more than usual her baby sister. What made things even stranger was the fact Ruby was actually looking away while blushing at those stares, further worrying her older sibling.

Asking to Shaun himself yielded little info about the matter, the teen connecting this situation to something that had happened early in the morning between the two. It was confusing, concerning but also an interesting sight to see in this time of the day.

As the people directly interested to this lesson’s sparring were led to the armory, the blonde was quickly to her locker to pick her sweet gauntlets of fire and explosions. And explosions. Seriously, she couldn’t live without getting her fight a bit more spicier than usual and Ember Celica helped with that a lot.

Donning her battle-gear, she glanced at the other people, noticing that Shaun had not picked his usual rifle. In his hands was a small blade with exotic details, something the Xiao Long had never seen before.

Calling a dagger seemed wrong as the blade was longer than one, but it was also shorter than a standard sword. Her mind was trying to figure out the reasoning behind this change when an annoying individual presented itself.

Almost taller than her, the orange-haired teen that tried to introduce himself with a flirty smile and a crappy flexing gave only his name before being pushed aside for being far too close for her liking.

Carding Winchester? Well, it would seem like Karma was going to be delivered to the poor moron. Arrogantly strutting towards the platform, the boy prepared his mace and the blonde sighed in growing annoyances.

_ Seriously, can I have just a  _ _**goddamn** _ _ day without getting ogled at?! _

But differently from any of the humiliations she had dispensed back in Signal, the rules here at Beacon allowed to bring the opponent’s aura below yellow and onto red. That is one of the details she remembered from the long-winded explanation and she was going to follow it  _ thoroughly. _

Without missing a beat, Yang prepared herself on the proper spot of the small arena as she waited for the sign to begin the match.

Professor Goodwitch gave a nod towards the boy and then to her, moving away as the ‘health bars’ appeared on the two large screens above them. The spar began as the teen started to rush towards her, mace up above his head as he threw a roar and-

**Bang**

**Thud**

Yang frowned as the punch propelled by her Ember Celica made instantly contact with her opponent’s stomach, forcing him to bend over and  _ fall unconscious. _

His Aura was still on yellow, a good three fourth of it gone with that simple attacks. Everyone was confused and Cardin’s teammates stared in shock as he went down so quickly and… easily.

Her frown deepened but the blonde shrugged as a sighing Goodwitch called off the match.

“ Mr. Winchester is unable to continue the match and...” She turned to look sternly at the girl. “Ms. Xiao Long, maybe give him- Actually, please go back to the stands as I get Mr. Winchester to the infirmary.”

The brawler used this opportunity to listen to what the people were saying about this whole situation and- 

“ That was anti-climatic, Xiao Long. Even I feel bad for you.” 

Yang chuckled at Weiss’ tight-lipped compliment. “I suppose today I will not have a challenge as I had expected.”

Her lilac eyes turned to the only boy on her team as he moved right where she had once been standing for her fight, a teasing smile on her face. “At least we will have some spectacle one way or another, with Shay representing us.”

“ It will be another quick one.” Blake affirmed without much interest, her eyes stuck on the book in her hands.

Surprisingly enough Pyrrha nodded at her statement. “While Jaune got a mind capable of thinking quickly under duress, his body is far to keep up with his brilliant plans.”

“ You make it sound like he is a tactical genius, Pyrrha.” The Schnee narrowed her eyes in surprise at the quick defense of the redhead, the girl giggling in response. 

“ I guess I’ve seen close enough to know that this assumption is strongly correct.” Her vibrant green eyes moved to Jaune and his opponent. “But Shaun is more tuned with his simple weapons. Experience trumps potential and… and Shaun possess some potential to become a worthy opponent to the title of ‘Invincible’ if I have to be honest.”

“ Isn’t that a little pushy now, P-Money?” Yang asked quietly. “Sure, Shay here managed to get out of some unpleasant situations but he hardly seem capable of-”

“ He can fight using cheap tricks, Yang.” The Mistralian girl interrupted with a strong tone. “Seeing the few times he was fighting, I can be quite sure that his fighting style is fully devoted in exploiting an opponent weakness with the best way available. He will use dirty tricks to bring the victory to himself and… one could say I am not that… unfair.”

“ You have always shown to be quite sportive during tournaments… but you really ever used ‘tricks’?”

“ It’s personal but… I find that very idea difficult to put on practice. I guess tournaments influenced me into keeping a ‘friendly’ fighting style.”

“ Yikes...” Yang sighed as she spotted Goodwitch returning back inside the room. “I guess we shall see how much true your words are, P-money.”

\---------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----

“ L-Look, I know that she had said no, but couldn’t I just-” 

My lips twitched as a tiny scowl formed at the umpteenth attempt of the Arc to get some help in hooking up with Weiss. If it had been a situation where the girl had actually shown interest on him, I would have been completely happy to help him around.

But this wasn’t the case and, after repeating politely that there wasn’t a chance and that he should look around himself since there was someone already interested that way on him, the blond would merely take it as a reason to return to the charge. 

Jaune Arc was the kind of adorkable guy that people love for his relatable life and personality, but dealing with his crush on Weiss was… slightly unnerving me. I am usually a calm person but for some reason this topic was starting to leave me quite irked the more it grated on my nerves.

“ If you win, I will help you-” His face lightened up. “But if you lose you will ask some help from Pyrrha about your ‘secret’, understood!”

He paled instantly at the second bit, eyes widening in shock as I sighed. “I know about it, the headmaster does too but we both don’t care. Keep good grades and you will be fine, capisce?”

The blond gulped nervously but managed a nod as Professor Goodwitch returned from the infirmary. 

“ Are you two ready?” We both nodded at her question and she sighed as she retreated again, the match beginning moments later.

Jaune followed Cardin’s strategy of charging head on his opponent minus the stupid ‘roar’ the Winchester had screamed at Yang. I patiently waited that he reached an acceptable range before I started with my brief plan of winning this match.

In a normal situation, Jaune would be able to beat me because of his tanky Aura levels and his balanced combat style. A sword and a shield, albeit useless in a gunfight, were good when facing a single Japanese Tanto. The blade was something that worked well in terms of reliability, speed and precision.

So to win in this situation my mind set as targets three specific sections of Jaune’s body that were the least armored. As he was close enough to try and land a swing from above, I used my blade to further push Crocea Mors away from getting too close as my leg lifted and-

**SLAM**

-slammed on his armpit. 

I had to reinforce my legs with Aura to leave some significant damage as Aura generally managed to remove a good 80% of any hit on its user. My intention wasn’t to truly hurt him hardly, but to leave the stinging sensation that still managed to pass through the natural barrier and tense one’s muscles.

His eyes widened in surprise, but Jaune quickly moved his shield to bash me away. Sadly, the object being slow and me being already on the move made the attempt futile as I went right to the second weakness.

Another kick, this time directed at the bending spot of his knee, forcing him to kneel as the sudden and momentary pain deprived him of the essential time to understand what was going on and how escape his current predicament.

Without stopping a single instant, I cocked my punch and-  **THUD**

-punched the back of Jaune’s head, forcing him to collide to the floor as  _ I tackled him down and immobilized him. _

As I continued to press him on the floor, I started to count up to ten in my mind and, once the count ended, I was rewarded with a familiar sound. The very sound that called for the end of a match.

“ Victory for Mr. Reyter.”

Professor Goodwitch approached once more the Arena as I untangled myself off from Jaune. The blond guy was confused at was going on and I decided to quip in.

“ Victory in a spar can be obtained by restraining an opponent for at least 10 seconds.”

His jaws dropped. “B-But I thought that-”

“ Like any other of the students, you thought that bringing your opponent’s aura to red was the only way to win but, as Mr. Reyter has just said, there are other ways to end a spar.”

The leader of Team JNPR groaned in his hands as he got up from the ground. 

The teacher turned to him and nodded, then back at me. “But I think you have something else to say, Mr. Reyter. Please be quick as there are other students that have to fight.”

“ Two things and...” I sighed. “Jaune, can you assume your usual stance?”

The Arc frowned at the request but, after few moments of silence, he brought up his usual position. 

“ Now when you take a swing at someone, you usually leave an opening in your sword-wielding side. You should bring your shield to cover that gap until you are ready to strike down-”

“ Before the lesson ends, Mr. Reyter.” The teacher pressured and I found myself getting a little nervous.

“ A-Also, remember our talk and go ask some help to Pyrrha, okay?”

An embarrassed red exploded on his cheeks and he nodded as he skipped towards the stands and I followed him close behind.

I turned to my team and-

“ You did it, Shay-boy!” Yang exclaimed.

“ Good job, Shaun!” Ruby chirped in.

Blake nodded in her book and…

…

Weiss _ smiled _ a pretty smile.

My brain had to reboot quickly at the sight as, for some reason, her reaction left me a little bit breathless. Red-faced and confused, I managed to avoid any unpleasant questions as the girls started to ask about the fight and about my new weapon.

_ **But seriously, my heart, stop alluding to a dream unconquerable** _ .

\--------d-d-d-d---------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d--------d-d-d------

Blake Belladonna was having some difficulty in paying attention to the current lesson.

General History used a pattern similar but yet opposite to Professor Port’s style with Prof- _ Doctor  _ Oobleck was incredibly smooth with his words, his tone and swift delivery giving a proper view of history and it would have been an interesting subject… if it wasn’t boring on itself.

Only a handful of people in the world could genuinely like History as much as the teacher and, if her assumptions about the classroom were correct, none of her fellow students was among this limited group of people. Everyone looked either distracted or focused to other homework as Oobleck continued with his lesson.

But then the topic of the lessons shifted to something familiar to the hidden Faunus as the teacher brought up a portion of History that she had studied back home extensively: The Faunus Rights War.

A monumental part of Faunus History that saw the first conflict between mankind and Faunuskind about a century-long debacle that had strained relationships between the two groups. The War was initially deemed one-sided, with mankind considered the easy victor of the War as they owned several weapon factories and veteran soldiers.

Sadly this War showed a glaring mistake that had patiently sink its teeth on the Kingdoms and that was the lack of development. After the Great War, only Atlas had enjoyed a quick rise as the rest of the world stagnated for decades.

When the conflict sparked, human armies were hardly able to fend off against guerrilla actions. The habit of fighting with ‘fair rules’ had led to some early surprise that almost tipped the tides to a full Faunus victory… but Atlas managed to avoid the full collapse of the united front.

The first generation robots were capable of easily find enemy’s hideouts, forcing the retreat of the already dwindled forces to find refuge in swamps and dense forests to avoid being found by the robotic scout groups.

The stalemate found another opportunity to end earlier than how it had happened when the Altesian General Maxime Lagune took over the Supreme Leadership of the United Armies. The grandson of the infamous General Philippe Lagune was nowhere near his most known relative as he had just left the Military Academy when he was given the role against the other Kingdoms’ wishes.

The predecessor of the youth had been Grand General Ferdinand Karmesin, an old friend of the Philippe Lagune, had been forced to seek early retirement for his sickly state he had entered the war and how his mind was being altered by the medicines he was taking to deal with his problems. Few months after retiring, the leader was found dead in his sleep.

With a new commander leading them, many of the troops deployed started to question the integrity of the choice, finding the young age and lack of experience enough reasons to warrant some investigation about the matter.

Military police was quickly dispatched under the request of Vale and Mistral to find more background of the General and… a large uproar almost shattered the entire alliance as briberies and favoritism were revealed to the entire world.

Standing on shaky grounds, the young General decided to evade the growing dissent by chasing after a glorious victory against the Faunus. The Battle of Fort Castle ended up being what was needed to utterly destroy the last bits of the officer’s reputation, forcing him to relinquish his role to the more experienced Tangerine Harvest from Vale. The first woman to lead an army of that size and the one that brought an end to the war itself by demanding negotiations to properly seal it to a closure.

Even now the long-deceased General Harvest is still revered by Menagerie the human that wanted real peace to happen, real rights to be proclaimed for the Faunus. The proof of it being that she had in her late years adopted two fox Faunus and legitimized them as her grandchildren.

Blake blinked as she realized that the lecture had just finished and, closing her book, she was ready to leave when her eyes caught while turning to move the amused expression of one Shaun Reyter directed at her. Part of her wanted to go still at the implicated message, but the Cat Faunus was long prepared to deal with this kind of situations and she merely ignored him.

Sadly, the boy seemed to have confused her ‘go away’ with a ‘please, follow and pester me’ as he quietly gave a slow chase, forcing her to pick up the pace. “Blake! You forgot your book!”

Liar, the very book he was talking about was safely in her hands and… Wait, what? She stopped and… her hands were empty. Eyes widening in confusion, the teen reached out to pass her the text and sighed. “Seriously, why did you drop this and-”

“Cut the chase, Shaun. What do you truly want?” Indeed, it was time to end this once for all. Just like that book about the Shogun forcing the Kunoichi to undo her masculine travesty and unveil to his close friend that she had loved him since they first me-

“Well, you suddenly dropped your book and I went to give it back to you?” He blinked confused. “What did you expect?”

She sighed. “You were smiling and-”

“Oh that. Yang said a funny joke about Lagune being Cardin’s possible ancestor or something along those lines.” He paused a moment and tilted his head with a curious hint in his eyes. “Were you thinking that I was connecting the lesson to-”

“So you know?!”

He shrugged. “You know that your bow twitches?” She nodded as he sighed. “Well, it’s kind of difficult to ignore that after ten times caught with that sight, ya know? But seriously, what got you hiding-”

“I can’t tell you.” Blake replied curtly. “Nor I will tell to the girls.”

“...Do you fear that Ruby will want to scratch the back of your ears-” 

“No! I mean, that is a good reason but...” She sighed, trying to calm down. “I can’t say it.”

“Why?”

Now this was starting to get ridiculous! Why couldn’t he just let go?!

“Because I can’t and-”

“Is it because you were part of the White Fang?”

Her throat dried up at the sudden guess, a correct one to booth and her eyes shot wide open at the surprising situation.

He shrugged. “I had met Tukson before going to Beacon Academy and he told me that Faunus usually hide their features when they are either scorned by people around them or they are hiding their connection with the organization.”

“D-Don’t ask for more. I don’t want to-” “Do you think they will hate more if you tell them?”

A legitimate question that spurned up the very fear she had started to hold back since day one. She was slowly building up a new life here in the Academy and, if her real self harmed such progress, then it was best to keep it aside.

But what if the best outcome was coming clean? If the team learned of her past in other ways, her hopes of never being forced to face rejection were going to be dashed immediately.

“Weiss is a Schnee-” 

“Trying to leave her father’s shadow.”

“Yang will surely-” 

“Ask to pet your ears.”

“Ruby-”

But this time he didn’t reply and… Blake found her reasons to not tell to the youngest of the group her story quite lacking. The girl was pure naivety and sweet cinnamon roll, there wasn’t a single bone in her that could hate people.

How was she supposed to argument her unwillingness to deal with this aspect of her life. Was she seriously going to risk it all for the fear of being rejected and…

“Why do you care?” She asked quietly. “What would you gain from this?”

Shaun shrugged. “Other than having some honesty in our team? Everything.”

The Belladonna blinked. “Everything?”

“I mean, I think that with your ‘revelation’, the team would find its fullest balance. No more secrets, everyone is going to be family from now on.”

...What a foolish idea. Family? She had one in Menagerie, one that loves her the world but she had easily turned away for her idyllic dreams of true equality. She had tried to find this completed within the Fang, but ended up seeing her father’s project turn against its creator’s hopes of becoming a beacon of hope for everyone, not just the Faunus.

Her eyes widened again as she felt something soft reaching for her eyes, removing some hot tears. A handkerchief that was owned by the very one that sparked this emotional struggle, his face looking deflated at… her situation?

“H-Hey now, I didn’t mean to-”

But he didn’t get the time to finish as heavy footsteps approached the two.

“Shay-boy, why is Blakey crying?!”

They both turned to the owner of the voice, one Yang Xiao Long marching angered towards them, her eyes a blood red as the boy started to pale the more she got closer.

And while she wanted to cry some more at this confusing situation, the comic predicament that was now unfolding brought a small smile on her. It reminded her that Beacon wasn’t a formal and strict place as it had been the headquarters of the White Fang. People were not denied the chances of having fun and having those moments together.

From within her throat a tickle emerged, urging a small chuckle to leave her lips. At first it was muffled by her hand, then a genuine laugh started to echo through the entire hallway and Yang stopped right as she was ready to pummel the panicking youth.

Soon Ruby and Weiss reached them and stared in surprise and with confused looks as Blake continued to laugh for a while. Then she stopped, a gorgeous smile on her face forming as easily as the laugh had came.

“W-What was that, Blakey- I mean, not like I dislike your beau- I mean-” A brief chuckle followed and finally the Faunus sighed as she made her decision.

“Girls, I… I have to tell- No, I have to show you something.”

Her hand reached for the small bow on her head and… she undid it. Three pairs of eyes widened as her cat ears were freed from the black cloth and given some relief after so much time spent kept in that horribly warm ribbon.

“You have-” Yang felt at loss at the sigh, yet her hands were already preparing for a quick test.

“So pretty!” Ruby’s eyes were sparkling with child-like wonder.

Weiss blinked once, then twice… and finally sighed. “So that’s what you were hiding?”

… “Yes?”

The Altesian girl shrugged. “I don’t see why you would want to hide that. I… I don’t dislike Faunus and-” She sighed tiredly. “And I guess having a Schnee on your team might have prompted you to keep the traits hidden.”

Blake contemplated telling them of the White Fang now but… it was way too much in the open-

“You can tell them that once we got back to the dorm.” Shaun muttered, making the Faunus jump in surprise at the very reply to her inner question. Could he be… reading her mind? A silly notion she had read from a book but… he didn’t reply to that. Myth busted.

“Tell us what, Blakey? What is Shay-boy talking about and-” Surprisingly enough it was Weiss that interrupted the blonde. 

“If it’s some secret stuff, it is only legitimate we kept him with our team only.”

Lilac eyes narrowed but Shaun continued. “She is going to tell you and… think of the cat ears.”

Blake’s world turned cold as Yang seemed to twitch at the last words, the girl turning towards her as her hands were ready to launch an assault to her poor cat ears. 

_ Curse you, Shaun Reyter! _

She thought before rushing away from the Xiao Long, the girl giving already chase behind. And yet as the two rushed away, one last thought entered and left Blake’s mind.

_ Still that was… nice of him. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So while I was writing this I got a fun idea to whom pair Cardin and… No one will expect it. It will be so much fun to hint at.
> 
> Funny fact: I always think of coming few words shorter than usual every chapter, but I always end up adding more and more length in the newer chapters.
> 
> Seriously, almost a full 6k of Story only, and my brain is still intact.
> 
> Also about intact brains: Do you know what One Hour Photo is? Do you know what Evangelion is? If you like those two things, then I am happy to say that the Xover is available in the form of ‘New Frames’. A followup of the Movie with Seymour ‘Sy’ Parrish Isekai’d (?) at the beginning of NGE. 
> 
> Quick question: Should I upgrade this from an Equilateral Triangle to a Perfect Square-based Pyramid?
> 
> Lastly about this chapter: No Velvet abuse in this chapter, Cardin was sent to deal with Tsune and I hardly think he will be out anytime soon. Giving me the opportunity to make a different Jaunedice with a… better Jaune.


	5. Trust and Sacrifice

**Chapter 5: Trust and Sacrifice**

If there was something Yang Xiao Long was good to do was giving respect were it was due. When Blake had come out as a Faunus and a former ‘terrorist’ for the White Fang, it had opened up for her the chance of getting a little bit closer by how she ‘reacted’ to such news. 

While the blonde was hardly interested in politicking and anything about the violent organization, she was good in perceiving distress in people and, as Weiss looked particularly miffed at the latter revelation, Yang was there to offer support where she could offer it.

The Cat Faunus appreciated her presence with her silent glances, her eyes lightening a little even through her attention was mostly taken by the minor rant the Schnee Heiress was going with. Shaun looked completely neutral but it was easy for them all to see he was only monitoring the situation in the dorm room while keeping it from going for ‘extreme’ means.

The Altesian girl wasn’t sure holding back with her rage, angry that she had been around a ‘terrorist’, someone that she had trusted for so long and ending up to face someone that ‘wanted’ to kill her and her family. The Belladonna flinched once or twice during the whole speech, keeping quiet as she glanced briefly at the only boy of the team, seeking something.

Yang was smart enough to see that this wasn’t just a plea to get out from this situation. That whole can of worm had already been dealt with when she had tried to dissuade the rest of the girls that her second secrets wasn’t worth attention or that it was a personal one that she didn’t want to give out.

Turns out that Shaun refused whatever excused she espoused to ‘run away’ from this confrontation by admitting that ‘if this was used by an enemy, then it would be problematic’. True, but also forceful from the usually chill teen, proving that even those who are usually calm can get pushy when it was needed.

Yet returning to the glances, the blonde took some time to understand the real meaning behind the negatives he would send back to Blake. Lilac eyes widened in realization as she connected the dots about the moments her partner was doing this. It was every time Weiss was pressing on some issues that could be considered pretty heavy, accusations that weighted a lot and could be considered far-fetched until evidence was provided.

Jeez, who would have guessed that  **Right & Amendment** would have given her the notions to identify this curious case. And her father was so angry when she would quote some cool characters…

Yet it was the reasoning behind his refusal to concede the black-haired girl some replying that got her mind working on the possible motivations. Maybe it was because he wanted Weiss to cool down a little? Or maybe it was that interjecting right in the points when she sounded more vehement would be counter-productive.

Just as this unfolded, Ruby had taken a seat close to Shaun, her hood up as she would usually do when she wanted to be kept out from loud talking. Silver eyes wide open, she was silenced by the fact she was busying herself with some cookies. An act that reminded Yang that this was how her little sister would endure nervousness. Indeed the one-sided yelling wasn’t something even someone as sturdy as the brawler could go through without looking uneasy.

Weiss seemed to have completely lost her composure, red-faced because of her inner irritation that was having a strong voice with her words. It wasn’t completely weird to comprehend if the Xiao Long had to be honest, as the heiress was dealing with someone that had been part of a group that had actively taken part in either trying to hurt or kill her and her family.

And while the Schnee had been quite silent about the rest of her family, it was clear that someone mattered a lot for the enraged girl. So much that she was going out of her ways, beyond the usual etiquette, to address the ‘threat’ in the room.

Few more minutes of angry Weiss and the Altesian girl seemed to slowly let her fury simmer down to a deadly scowl. Good enough, the nod Shaun gave to Blake said and the Cat Faunus decided to be careful with her wording.

“While I cannot ask from you forgiveness nor the chance of redeem what the Fang has done to you and your family… I want to say that I am sorry for the pain I might have caused to-”

“Spare me the apologies, _Belladonna_.” The poisonous interjection made the Faunus flinch in surprise, but not too much as it was partly expected from the still irritated heiress. “I know what is going on here.”

Blue eyes moved through the room with accusations sent to the rest of the occupants.

“But I think the one that should seriously explain himself is you, Shaun Reyter.” Her tone raised up as she addressed him. “You _knew_ of this and did nothing to inform me. I hope you have some decent reasons for this travesty to happen-”

“Because I trust Blake.” Weiss’ eyes widened in shock as her brain took in those words, so doubtless and determinedly given. For a moment her shoulders sagged, a betrayed look crossing her face but then… Shaun continued.

“While Blake had been part of the White Fang, it would be hypocritical of you to say that she was part of the more extreme faction of the group.” He paused a moment, confusion and anger rekindling in the heiress but he was far from done. “Your father did enforce some orders within the SDC that deprived the Faunus workers of basic rights that are a must for every living being. A health insurance and medical checkup for the miners were once there before him and now? Gone. There is not a single positive reform since your father took the lead, gaining little improvement over the production growth but cutting down the expenses about Faunus.”

“T-Then what? Are you going to say that it’s my family’s fault that-Uh?” Eyes wetting up a little, she recoiled in surprise as Shaun proceeded to flicker at her forehead. “W-What was that for?”

“Because the most irritating thing in this situation is that you are questioning the fact I care for you and what you think, silly girl.”

Surprisingly enough it was Ruby that chimed in that exact moment. “You both are part of our team, you are our friends and… something like a family?” Silver eyes looked uncertainly at the boy as he assured her with a nod. “Yes, a family. While we might have some unpleasant pasts-” She glanced at Blake. “-Or some uneasy presents-” Weiss blinked in surprise at the Rose’s seriousness. “We are together now. Our life is connected and… we need to work out the small friction between ourselves- But I am sure! I am sure that we can do it with patience and perseverance.”

While the speech sounded unique and surprisingly charismatic, Yang Xiao Long was having a terrible time keeping her giggles away from ruining the moment. Those words, albeit altered here and there, were just like the ones of a movie she watched with Ruby. Her sister had found the situation to insert a quote from a superhero movies and… and  _ she was so proud of her! _

“Yet I think that some punishments need to be given!” The team leader proclaimed with her squeaky voice. “Blake, for not telling the truth from the beginning and… Weiss for being incredibly loud!”

“ _What kind of reasoning is that-”_

“Thus your punishment is… team-hug!” Everything went quiet, both the Faunus and the Schnee looking pale for a moment as the two siblings that were Ruby and Yang grinned eye to eye at this situation.

But while Blake was coerced with the soft grasp of the blonde over her tense shoulders, the Rose had to intercept Weiss with her semblance, the heiress trying to flee from the closed door. Soon the two girls were squished by their respective partners in the hug, not overly-uncomfortable but still something that left her sour for some reason.

Moments passed and… Ruby frowned at the lack of one individual in the team-hug. It wasn’t a team-hug until every member of the team was within the hug. “Shaun! You are not exempted from the hug-”

“I-I am fine.” Lilac eyes darted to the embarrassed-looking boy as he tried to not give too much eye to the four girls hugging close and together. A feral grin replacing her smile as she looked at the teen trying to be ‘prim and proper’.

“Is it because, Shay-boy is scared of getting cooties or… _is it because he doesn’t want to grope anyone_?”

Her grin widened more as she knew that she had centered the issue that deterred the youth from… going for the embrace. Ruby frowned in confusion, Blake blinked in surprise and Weiss scowled at the accusation. 

“Yang, Shaun is merely being a gentleman. I bet someone like you hardly had the chance to met one.”

What was meant to be taken as an insult was grasped as a challenge by the brawler as she whistled at her words.

“A gentleman, Ice Princess? Then I guess we should be the ones to make sure he gets in the hug, so he cannot get caught in some terrible deed.” The heiress huffed in annoyance at the blonde’s words and seemed to straighten herself up for a moment.

“That is an asinine idea, Xiao Long. Shaun is an exemplary and distinguished individual that I found myself caring for and I wouldn’t never force him in doing something he doesn’t want to be part of.”

Moments of silence passed as Yang looked at the Schnee with a twitchy smile, the situation having taken a completely different outlook as the rest of the girls stared at the heiress.

“T-Truly? Then can I ask why are y-you sitting in his lap and hugging h-him?” Blue eyes blinked with calm and patience as the girl sighed from her new spot, ignoring the blush spreading on the boy’s face at how close they were to each other.

Ruby was staring at the scene in utter confusion, trying to understand if this was something friends truly did to each other and… the magazine might have some solution, yes.

“As much as it costs me to say, I have been dishonest in distrusting Shaun without a proper proof of any ill-intent.” Weiss explained elegantly, adjusting herself on the embarrassed boy’s lap. “This is how much I trust him, how much I know that he will not try to ever try anything bad on me.”

A strange way to make a show of faith and loyalty, but one that still got Yang giggly for a while.

“I-I suppose it’s true but, if I may ask ‘milady’, is the ‘pillow’ comfortable enough?” Much to the blonde’s surprise the Schnee huffed an answer.

“He is quite comfy. And I would life you didn’t allude to any perverted innuendo over the situation, Xiao Long, I know you are thinking of doing so.”

“A-A very interesting demonstration, Weiss.” Blake quipped nervously, her brain connecting this scene to some cases within Ninja of Love… the beginning of those at least.

“Thank you, Blake-” The Altesian girl froze for a moment as she realized that she had replied thoughtlessly to someone _she had yet to forgive_. “I mean, I appreciate the kind comment, Belladonna.”

The Faunus sighed and yet she smiled inwardly at the progress she made with that comment. A small improvement, but still something that helped her to work upon her ‘redemption’ with the Schnee.

* * *

“Mr. Reyter is quite the interesting character, Headmaster.” Glynda Goodwitch mused as she finished staring at the scene showed by one of the cameras around the school. “But still that doesn’t explain why you decided to let him and Mr. Arc to enter Beacon Academy.”

Indeed Ozpin had initially planned to have only the young son of Nicholas Arc to join the school, knowing that the blond had some basic training thanks to his siblings and had the potential to easily recover what he had lost in his sheltered life.

Shaun Reyter was an enigma. His acceptance wasn’t one pondered as lightly as with the Arc, the young boy proving to be as intriguing as mysterious. Nobody with his name was mentioned in Vale’s census, confirming the fact he wasn’t from the Kingdom and possibly, not even from the rest of the nations as he showed to be… completely unique with his name and mannerism.

One could easily confuse him for someone born in Vale or maybe from Mantle, yet the youth displayed some knowledge over the subjects he was dealing with. He was seen reading very little material and yet he could already mention without effort the names of the various common Grimm. Same for History and gun knowledge.

Part of him was quick to accuse the boy of being part of the Queen’s faction, Salem having shown in the past that she wasn’t shy from picking children within her group and sending them in suicidal tasks to hurt his own ‘pawns’.

Ozma was never much of a Chess Player in his first life, not even the attempts pulled by his former wife in his second time were in vain as his mind failed to connect the surprisingly cynical game to reality. Yet he changed as the years passed, as he migrated from a host to another.

He grew weary, tired of the warring world around him of the politicking that hurt both within and outside the borders of the nations. A terrible display that further drove in him a sense of dread at the possibility of the Gods returning to Remnant.

The end of Humanity, the  _ second  _ and possibly  _ last _ end. The world was too divided to be redeemed as it was now, thus the Relics were meant to be kept the safest possible, away from the his endless opponent.

Shaun Reyter wasn’t part of Salem’s faction, the proof being the fact that he was properly checked by Tsune once the initiation test was completed. A human, an average young man with the potential and the determination to give a shot and become greater. It wasn’t a selfish desire that pushed him to go forward, but a genuine sense of chivalry.

It was strange for someone of this age, rare and… Ozpin decided to prepare something about the youth. Something that was completely detached from any of his current plans about the Maiden.

While he had yet to face the limits of his reincarnations, his magic had started to decline when he had given to the Branwen siblings the power of turning into birds. It had taken a toll on him, something unusual after using stronger, more complex spells early on in his current host.

Confusing but also glaringly reminding him that he wasn’t like Salem. The woman’s immortality wasn’t one created by the Gods, but by a product of the God of Darkness. She sold her humanity for the sake of keep going… forever.

A dreadful fate that she was surely regretting, no matter how much she motivated her situation by considering him the real responsible for this.

Ozpin knew that time was unkind, especially when you live for so long and… your days are numbered. Having one of the members of his group to replace him wasn’t viable, none of them being leader material in his eyes.

The scene he had just visioned, the one where the young Reyter had carefully defused the situation within his team without a terrible escalation was… promising. It offered him an idea, a chance for humanity to keep fighting after his eventual  _ real _ passing.

Magic might be fading inside his coils, but he could still do a simple spell. A spell that was meant to be used only to create a new hope.

A hope led by a teacher and his student.

“He has shown some potential.” He stared at the Deputy with a calm look. “Did he cause any issue?”

“Not that I am aware and...” The blonde sighed. “He is incredibly… receptive of critics. He learn from his mistake.”

Quite interesting.

“I would say that he sounds like your optimal student. Little complain and quite driven to pursue a solution to any weakness pointed out.”

“There are several, but he is improving.” She admitted much to Ozpin’s inner glee. It was always a happy day when he manages to ‘beat’ the woman in predictions. “But I am more concerned about… his initial setup. Why was he lacking a weapon?”

Brown eyes mirthfully stared back at Glynda. “He was trained in unorthodox means, he was rendered unable to create his own weapons prior to joining Beacon… but we both know he can use what he is given.”

“That is actually another thing I wanted to point out, headmaster. Who trained him?”

“Someone trustworthy.” Ozpin lied without hesitation, having little knowledge of the relatively old huntsman that wrote the recommendation. Yet he knew it was one of those that had fought in the minor skirmishes after the Great War.

“I hope it wasn’t that _man_. Branwen is not-” 

“It was not Qrow.” The headmaster interjected quickly, silencing the woman as he continued. “He has been out of Vale for a long time for a mission.”

The blonde nodded at the last bit, remembering the man describing her the current whereabouts of the Scythe-holder hunter.

“Any other issues? Bart or Peter-” 

“Both Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port are elated to have someone like Mr. Reyter in their classrooms, he had shown to be quite active during lessons and helping teachers quite eagerly.”

“But I think there is still an issue.” The headmaster quipped with a curious tone. “Or else you wouldn’t be there to mention the young man.”

She sighed, showing once more that his capacity to predict behaviors was still working. 

“I wouldn’t say that he is the subject of this conversation, I was merely… pointing out a perplexity of mine.” Glynda paused a moment. “The reason why I’m mentioning Team RWBY is because I think Ms. Rose is facing quite an issue this year.”

“The fact she is a leader?”

“Partially, Headmaster.” Ozpin groaned within his head, finally a defeat reaching his brain. “It is the fact she had… skipped two years to join Beacon.”

“You provided materials to make up with the issue, what might be the problem?”

“She still needs to face the practical exam, the first mission outside from the school.” Glynda mentioned. “It is mandatory and sadly cannot be skipped.”

“We could set it ‘at the same time’ of Professor Peach’s excursion in the Forever Fall forest. It is after all considered a ‘first mission’ by legal means.”

“The one in two days?” The principal nodded and the deputy sighed. “It could be done… I will see to find the right paperwork for you to sign then-”

“Speaking of documents, _Glynda._ May I ask you a favor about-” The sound of a whip slamming on his desk stopped him on his tracks.

“You shall dutifully finish your paperwork, headmaster. This time I will not close an eye to any accidents about coffee spilling over the papers and _I will drop twice the usual amount if you dare me._ ”

Gulping nervously, Ozpin could only nod at the demanding woman as she left his office. Alone and surprised, the headmaster stared at his empty mug and smiled.

**Glynda didn’t say anything about making** _**long trips** _ **to get some coffee, didn’t she?**

* * *

Raven Branwen sighed as she finished the content of her fourth glass of red wine. Red eyes staring at the empty cup with a contemplative glint, mind drifting away to the chiding she was giving to herself about the idiotic idea she had of frequently visiting Vale. It was all easy thanks to her semblance, going back and forth from an old alley to her tent back in her tribe’s camp, but the issue wasn’t logistical.

The problem was that she was terribly close to Ozpin’s power-base, risking to be detected from the Wizard and… be irritated by her foolish brother. Qrow was oblivious to the fact Ozpin used him because of his blood bond he shared with her, but he had more than once showed that he knew her ‘redemption’ was impossible.

You can’t redeem someone that hasn’t turned to ‘the wrong side’. It was something that couldn’t be, especially since Raven’s decisions were made out of some ‘irrational’ fear as it was known by her former team. It wasn’t because she had found Ozpin to be too soft, quite the contrary.

While the man had appeared to be wise and elderly, somewhat helpful in training and dealing with inner emotional struggles, that didn’t mean he kept such attitude when ‘important’ missions were issued to her team. At first she thought it was mere paranoia, the very thing that she had kept around after her childhood back in the tribe and… it proved to be correct.

While team-based missions were easy to complete because of competent people covering her back as she fought together with them, the same couldn’t be said about solo missions. 

After she and Qrow received the ‘magic’ from Ozpin to turn in a raven and a crow respectively, Raven’s life took a drastic turn of the dangerous kind. Danger was fun, it made her eager to face challenges, but she was also cautious to not overdo herself, to not risk herself for ‘a fight’. And while her brother was sent to do quick scout missions, the woman was sent dealing with larger tasks because of her capacity to move quickly and rapidly through large patches of land.

Alpha Grimm had been a common foe back in that period, nothing was simple and mistakes would be unforgivable. Time passed, she got tired of going so relentlessly for mission and she took a minor break, accepting the offer Taiyang and Summer for her to stay at their house. They were considering each other roommates until they found a way to get big enough places to make their new families in peace.

She rested in Patch, the place incredibly calm but not enough to grow boring to her. She decided to prolong her stay, to enjoy the scenery and to explore the Grimm-filled forest in the island. None reached the usual level of her missions’ Grimm but it was a refreshing change during the pleasant monotony of her stay.

Raven helped around build up new spaces within the simple house the three were sharing, two guestrooms being created first for the sake of housing her (the couch was killing her back) and Qrow (when her brother passed by). Things went smoothly and… she started to look differently at Taiyang.

The man kept most of his childish mannerism, refining it with experience and maturity. Talking with him would leave her moderately interest to explore more how much he had changed after Beacon and… they married.

First came the wedding, a strange affair because of the unusual dress she had to use and how annoying some former students were at the ceremony and the overall presence of white through the event. Thankfully it was all balanced out by how quick it all was and… by her husband’s surprising knowledge of certain things. A little red filled her face more, the memories still giving her the shivers at the mere thought. Those were good days…

Finally the finale of her happiness, the thing that forced her to make a quick leave and… leave them. To leave her own daughter…

Raven could remember exactly the day she received the message from Ozpin. A summon to his office back in Beacon, a mission of utmost importance. The woman was quick to reach the office, once again her portals being deadly useful to avoid dealing with little kids studying at the Academy and…

_“ **There had been sightings of the major Grimm forces in the area North-West of Vale. This area-”**_

_“ **It is deep in the Land of Darkness. I thought we already discussed that I can’t go that far, especially with a child back home.”**_

_ **Confusion, suspicion and incredible stress were building up in her core. It was early in the morning and Ozpin’s shenanigans weren’t helping with her need to go back to bed to Taiyang.** _

_ **The headmaster sighed. “Raven, it is essential we monitor this strange moves. The Queen might-”** _

_“ **What? What will the Queen do with a bunch of Grimm in an unoccupied area? Wouldn’t Atlas pick up the situation and deal with that themselves?”**_

_ **It wasn’t the first time the Kingdoms dispatched large groups of Huntsmen to kill a concerning amount of Grimm in some particular areas of Remnant. Atlas being the one mostly active with a large moving fleet and the technology to swiftly eliminate any threat.** _

_“ **It’s not only… that.” His desk showed a photo, a blurred picture of the horde of monsters… and someone walking near them. It was a human, a man by what she could see from his frame. Other details were blurs and impossible to recognize but… this was indeed worrying.**_

_ **If this unknown element was part of Salem’s faction, then she was indeed recruiting people around. It didn’t bode well as this meant… that new unpredictable elements were going to possibly jump up during scout missions.** _

_ **Still it was far too dangerous.** _

_“ **I cannot go there. There is still a considerable group of Grimm escorting this man and… I don’t know what kind of abilities he does have.”**_

_“ **It is important, Raven. You are a huntress-”**_

_“ **But also a wife and a mother. I cannot fight something above my capacities alone. I cannot be there to fight forever.”**_

_ **He nodded at this and Raven thought her point had gone through but… she underestimated Ozpin’s cynical planning.** _

_“ **Speaking about this, when do you think of start training your child.”**_

_… “ **I am sorry, what?”**_

_“ **You said that you wouldn’t be there forever, thus you have to have already planned Yang’s training for Beacon-” THUMP!**_

_ **The principal stopped, eyes widening just a fraction as Raven’s closed fist smacked his desk, cracking the holographic device.** _

_“ **You better not mean what you just said, Ozpin. There is a fine line between being desperate and being manipulative.** **”**_

_ **He scoffed at the accusations. “The world need new generations of heroes, Raven-”** _

_“ **Then let others replace the folds, it doesn’t have to be the children of the current Huntsmen.”**_

_“ **Sadly this is necessary.” He stated firmly. “We need a strong and cohesive army of people to-”**_

_“ **To what?” Surprisingly enough that shut the headmaster up, his eyes narrowing on the desk. “To do what, Ozpin? You already told us that the Queen couldn’t be killed and the only way to deal with her is to preserve the Status Quo.** **What could an army be used for in that case?”**_

_ **Ozpin kept quiet as red eyes lingered a little more before the Branwen looked out of the window, several students enjoying the lunch break as they walked to the Cafeteria.** _

_“ **I quit.”**_

_… “ **Beg your pardon?”**_

_“ **I quit. I am done. I can’t go along with this fantasy idea of yours to keep pushing us to the limits. To what results? Nothing.”**_

_“ **Raven-”**_

_“ **Don’t** **.” Her voice left no space to protest. “I am tired of dealing with your delusions of achieving some ending soon. You expect to ‘kill’ something invincible? This enemy cannot be fought fairly, Ozpin. It’s time to face reality and understand that we cannot do much more but kept the Status Quo.”**_

_ **She was about to leave that door when the headmaster spoke once more.** _

_“ **If you leave that door without accepting the mission, Mrs. Xiao Long.” He stated sternly, something unusual in his known behavior. “You will be considered a Rogue Huntsman.”**_

_ **Eyes wide open, she turned to stare at the man. There was no surprise, only furious shock at that ultimatum.** _

_ **HOW DARE HE?!** _

_“ **You are threatening me,** **Headmaster?** **” She walked back to his desk, hand hovering over the hilt of her sword. “I will be thinking more than twice to try this approach ever again.”**_

_“ **You have a duty to humanity, Raven-”**_

_“ **Spare me the lies, old man. I will not forget what you just said and… it’s over.”**_

_ **The portal back home let her reach the living room of the large house, legs wobbling as she grasped the wall to gain some support to keep standing. Eyes wide open as she thought well of what was going to happen.** _

_ **While she was sure her team was going to believe her and help her out, the rest of Vale was going to be branding her as a criminal that needed to be put in trail for High-Treason. She would lose Taiyang, Summer and… her baby girl.** _

_ **Without thinking twice, Raven walked upstairs and silently entered the baby’s room. Her child was still sleeping and she felt her shoulders sag as her eyes looked at her peaceful face. Her most precious treasure… she couldn’t take her where she wanted to go.** _

_ **Going back to the tribe to reclaim her ‘birthright’ had been a reserve plan in case things escalated beyond she could even deal with, something that was happening now. Her hand lowered to the girl’s hair, few curly locks of gold standing proudly as she caressed her child’s head.** _

_ **The Branwen stopped right as she saw Yang shifting in her little bed, almost waking up at her ministrations and… she sighed. A portal opened behind her and she walked towards it giving one last goodbye to her adorable angel.** _

_ **The following moments were spent walking through one of Mistral’s various forests as she walked through the path that led right back to the place she was born it. The old tribe had not changed a bit ever since she and Qrow had left it, maybe even going worse than before.** _

_ **The old chief, her ‘mother’, grinned as Raven passed the open gates, several members looking at her. Surprise, intrigue, greed and smug were the prevalent emotions within the various men and women around her.** _

_ **The woman that led them had short, dark hair with matching black eyes. Some hints of gray and white were starting to show in her locks but she looked just like she had left her back then.** _

_“ **Would you look at that. My little daughter returning home… and without that useless waste of her brother.”**_

_ **That nickname for Qrow. It was one of the few times she would felt irked about someone badmouthing him. It was something entrenched in her mind, something that enraged her little by little but… this time she wasn’t in the mood for her antics.** _

_“ **I wish to challenge you in the traditional rite of leadership.”**_

_ **The older woman went hysterical with her laughing, the rest of the tribe following, confusing the Branwen for few moments. Then she got an explanation by her.** _

_“ **Silly child of mine, that rule can only be applied to members of the tribe.” Her finger pointed at Raven. “You** **were** **part of it but then you ran away with your stupid fool of a brother.”**_

_ **Her teeth were gnawing, it’s been a long time since she had to deal with someone like her and the memories this place was bringing further distressed her inwardly.** _

_“ **But! You could join back.” The woman continued, her smile growing malicious. “But sadly we don’t need warriors, no. But your body? Mhhh-”**_

_ **SLASH** _

_ **Her disgusting head was sent flying, blood spilling like a fountain as it was set free with a simple swing from her blade. She stood silent for a while, watching as the headless body started to wobble backwards and then- Thud -Fall on the floor lifeless.** _

_ **She stared around her and… many were already kneeling at her. A smile, her plan coming to fruition even with the pathetic detour of the woman’s death. A pity it hadn’t been a real fight, maybe she would have lasted a little more.** _

_“ **After you finish your dinner, return to your tents.” Raven stated loudly as she started to walk towards the greatest of the tents, the one reserved to the Chiefs of the tribe. “Tomorrow I will address the new rules and… our newest targets.”**_

“Hey, have you finished yet?” The bartender, an old man, muttered at her as she found herself staring at the glass. Raven blinked and nodded. “I am done.” Picking some Lien she had stolen during one of her raids in unoccupied settlements back in Mistral, she gave it to the owner of the bar. He sighed and nodded, going away with her empty glass.

Vale had changed a lot since she had been there last time. Lots of new buildings, more people and technology has advanced to a peculiar level. It wasn’t the same as she had expected but… it would do. Leaving the building, she found it easy to mix with the crowd as she studied the streets of the capital for tomorrow.

Why tomorrow? Saturday was going to be the first day out of Beacon for… Yang Xiao Long and her Team. She had heard from proper sources that Summer’s own daughter was leading it and… like mother, like daughter. 

While her ‘little’ child wasn’t going to trust her… she could try and build up something. Something of a bond, hopefully, or maybe a rivalry. Even if she had to become a milestone for her daughter’s growth, she would accept it.

A soft sigh left her mouth, a small smile in her face as she noticed a new gun shop in her sight, several mods for… her blade?

It’s been a while since she had upgrade her trusted blade and… maybe she could find something useful. Who knows, maybe it could end up being deadly useful with what kind of events were happening in the Kingdom.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rewrote a little Raven’s character. What does this mean? If you have read ‘The Reluctant Hero’ AN in chapter 10 then you will know that I am quite interested in integrating in my stories one of the things Monty wanted to put in his vision of RWBY: an arc dedicated to Raven and Yang in Volume 3. But now? It will happen a little sooner. Why she would want to interact now with Yang? She is away from Taiyang and Qrow, plus Vale isn’t monitored much by Ozpin and thus leaving her much more space to reconnect with her.
> 
> If you find this vision too much… meh, I will understand. It’s a major change and I will soothe some of your doubts by saying that I am only removing the ‘mass-murderer’ out of Raven. Will she be an goodie-two-shoes? Nope, she will consider the extreme solution to a problem first thing first. And yet this will cause so much friction and fighting.   
> Her backstory is far from over as there is still another half that need to be addressed. Something about Summer and… why Raven didn’t give up completely.
> 
> Yay, I did something!


	6. Catching up

Staring at the reaction her ‘carefree’ clothes were getting from the people around her, Ruby couldn’t help but blush a little.

Tight jeans, a simple black tank-top and a half-sleeved red jacket. 

Those had all been bought a year ago, when Yang decided that her little sister required some ‘unique’ dress to have around in case she had to go in a date and… this might be the case actually. Vale was vibrant with energy, the early weekend bringing out the best out of the people native to the capital.

Students at Beacon didn’t have lessons during Saturdays and Sundays and were encouraged to visit the local shops and buy the ammo and modifications for their weapons, to improve their equipment by following the teachers’ advice during the first week at the Academy. 

Thinking about this very detail, the Rose found herself giving a little pat at her purse, directing it to the storage mode of Crescent Rose as it rested within it. 

“Today is sure going to be a fun day.” 

Ruby merely nodded at her sister’s statement, ignoring the snort from Weiss and the quiet nods Blake and Shaun gave to the blonde. Her silver eyes flickered to the small folded paper in her closed palm, important for her plans of today.

Yang knew little of it, knowing only that she had to take Shaun ‘away’ from her and Weiss as she went and make use of one of her best traits: creating new guns. 

It had all come from a suggestion from the boy, alluding to the fact the Altesian girl could seriously make use of a medium- or long-ranged weapon. And while the Schnee could propel Dust off from Myrtenaster, the rapier didn’t have a scope, nor anything that could be used to take precise aiming at an enemy.

Something like a carbine could work with her, she had mused over, something that could easily be folded down the same way Crescent Rose could. Something useful while also… made by her.

Blinking at her side, she noticed that the heiress of the SDC looked genuinely surprised. It wasn’t as evident as in any individual, but Ruby could see that Weiss was actively staring at the various people crowding the streets of the capital of the Kingdom, something far more different from Atlas the Rose had read on her free time.

The magazine she had used until now to help her attempts to befriend her female partner had concluded unexpectedly with some words, part of which she had heard more than once from Yang and her father. ‘Honesty and caring, moderated but passionate. When you seek love you need to make sure you and your partner are comfortable with each other. Find common points and deepen your blond with them.’

She had wanted to groan at those words at first, but then she got an interesting idea out of it the more her mind contemplated them. 

Picking several books about Atlas from the school’s library, the Rose studied the different customs and social conditions of the Kingdom in the north, making sure to get every single detail of the various tomes.

Nights passed, her poor eyes were starting to urge some regret at her decision-making but, after so many times she had done this herself, she merely ignored the feeble poke and continued with her arduous task.

Having gotten a full grasp of the Altesian culture, Ruby was washed by a wave of self-confidence that further cemented her ideal plan for the day. 

With Yang and Blake ‘dragging’ Shaun away from them, the Rose could easily profess her knowledge of the girl’s culture while also work on creating a carbine that fitted with her. A gift from her as she mellowed the Schnee with unexpected words and…

_ What if it didn’t work?! _

Those sudden defeatist thoughts were starting to grind on her nerves the more she waited for the ‘fated’ opportunity to come. 

What if Shaun decided to follow them? What if Weiss wanted to have around the boy and she picked her ploy early on?

So many dreadful outcomes that would come out from that little situation that the now cape-less girl couldn’t bring herself to face.  _ Yet she had to at least try. _

She wasn’t going to back down on senseless insecurity, nor was she going to accept any distractions to her plans. Ruby Rose wanted something and she was going to get it!

_ I want my hug and I will have it! _

With her determination renewing her morale she smiled brightly as she nodded to Yang’s way, lilac eyes catching on her gesture and returning it as the blonde went to wrap one of her arms around Shaun’s neck and bringing him close to her and Blake. 

“Hey Shay-boy, I wanted to know if you could come with us today. Ya know, wanted to hear someone to direct me to some Mistralian comic as I heard some had some real training tips on them.”

The boy blinked looking quite surprised but nodded nonetheless at the sudden request. 

“I think… I know what you are talking about. I guess I will help… if there aren’t any issue with the others.”

Blake looked conflicted for a moment, amber eyes glancing both Weiss and Ruby’s way before slowly nodding. The Cat Faunus had warmed up quite quickly, still keeping some paranoia around just to not sound imposing or over-bearing with her own ideas.

It was the Altesian girl herself that looked incredibly doubtful of this situation. Blue eyes betraying some unwillingness to part from their mutual partner reminded the Rose once more that the Schnee did prefer him the most, having spent quite some time around him and enjoying said moments.

Infuriating, but understandably acceptable as there were no attempt to push her away completely. Maybe she had overstepped her boundaries once in a while, but even she knew to not press too much onto the girl to avoid any unpleasant reaction from her.

Patience was a must but if she didn’t find a way to dissuade the girl from attaching herself this strongly at the boy, she might as well kiss goodbye her plans of befriending Weiss.

“I could join you two later if you need some help-”

“We will consider.” The Schnee accepted the compromise, her eyes now pressuring the Rose for a similar answer and Ruby couldn’t find any better chance of getting some time with her.

It wasn’t much, but she could work with the little time it was offered to her. Maybe she could also work to use Shaun in the process of further finalizing her plans once she had gotten any opening on the cold shell of the girl.

It will take some time but… she was hopeful. Determination and good effort was going to send her message through to the unaware Altesian native!

* * *

When the three teens entered Tukson’s Book Trade, Blake had felt an odd chill go down her spine as her mind reminded her of something very important that she had forgotten to take into account when Shaun joined their trip.

...Wasn’t she supposed to retire the newest installation of ‘Ninjas of Love’ today?

Paling a little but holding herself from making a noticeable reaction for the two teammates to pick up, the Belladonna contemplated any possible way to keep the boy from discovering the ‘peculiar’ genre of the literary collection she had accumulated in those few years she had joined this ‘fandom’.

It was odd how the story was so enticing and how the ‘adult’ scenes hardly broke the feeling the rest of the plot created. Ninjas of Love was a well-written piece that managed to bring out a sense of realism none of the currently available books managed to achieve.

A unique sight that she found of her liking and, differently from what Yang thought of it, the book barely mentioned anything remotely sexual. Just some scenes to bring utter realism to the fiction world created by the author and to resemble to the finest point all the aspects of a relationship.

Still it was embarrassing to bring out the book now with its infamous reputation known to the rest of the team. Blake could manage the blonde and her teasing, having long gone through them with the discovery of her ‘ears’ to her, but having Shaun know about this?

While she hardly knew the boy well enough to be utterly terrified by the prospect, the reason she truly felt unwilling to reveal this was… it was a boy, a very gentlemanish one to the core. Never he had mentioned perverted things and, sleeping in a dorm room with four girls, he was surprisingly adept to not appear in any sort of way lecherous in his manners. Maybe reacting embarrassed when one of the girls did make a joke of this kind.

Imagining him, someone that respectfully kept himself from disrespecting women around him, seeing her having the book in her hands? That would be utterly mortifying and… scary. Having already cut her past ties with her previous life, having to go through the process of starting from zero, Blake was mildly distressed by any outcomes of this situation.

Especially when said individual was the one that first accepted her as a Faunus. He didn’t show any of the racist attitude many humans were renowned for and keeps talking to her in a friendly basis. Something once in a while delightful when someone like hers needed some help with the minor issues of life, like homework.

Seriously, Shaun was a monster with all theoretical subjects and… She was digressing. 

The book shop was as silent as usual, not many visiting Tukson so early in the morning and during weekdays. A former member of the White Fang, the man had been a close friend of her father, having been there when the Fang was established. A staunch proposer of a balanced front of diplomacy and action, his voice went deaf when Sienna was chosen as the new leader.

Too problematic to have around but also too influential to get killed so early on. 

Sensing that things were changing in an unpleasant way, the owner of the shop was one of the first few members to defect from the organization and disappearing among the mix of Faunus and Humans.

Meeting him in Vale before going to Beacon? A pleasant surprise, but also a person she had to beg to not have her parents knowing of her current whereabouts. He accepted her request hesitantly, but until now the Belladonna had yet to hear from Menagerie.

Tukson spotted her first, noticing that she was missing her bow and surprisingly nodding with a smile at her. An embarrassed blush spread in her face, knowing full well that so many people had asked her to not be this clingy to the very object that kept her ‘identity’ a secret.

And now? She could see the ‘I told you so’ coming off smugly from the owner’s face, reminding her how ‘silly’ her staunch attachment to her ribbon was.

“Good morning, Mr. Tukson.” Shaun muttered with a warm tone, Blake’s eyes darting at the teammate as soon as she saw Tukson smile kindly at the boy.

“Mr. Reyter, I see that you passed the test at Beacon.”

Shaun shrugged. “A little difficult, but we all passed.”

Yang nodded and patted their shoulders. “We all did with flying colors, sir.”

A mirthful smile replaced the smaller one. 

“It’s good to see that you are in the same team as young Blake. You see she is a good client of mine and...” 

His mouth twitched and the Cat Faunus knew that her end was due the moment she saw a  _ familiar _ book being took out from one of the drawers by the counter. “I think this is yours, Ms. Belladonna.”

If there hadn’t been Yang laughing madly and Shaun tilting his head on the side as if a naive child, Blake would have jumped over the counter and pummeled the overly-smug man for literally humiliate her like this. 

Angry features painting her face slowly softened as her eyes widened at the following words of the boy.

“What is it about?”

Tukson blinked but having heard this question so many times in his career as an owner of a bookshop he merely nodded and started to explain exactly the general points of the novel. 

Lilac eyes were showing some skepticism but Shaun didn’t look particularly fazed at the mention of the more ‘mature’ tones of the tome.

“Sounds quite...” He paused a moment, his face betraying no emotion as he seemed to think about his wording. “Interesting.”

...Eh? Ears twitching in confusion, Blake blinked in surprise as his judgment was clearly positive and-

“How much does it cost a copy?”

Tukson hummed. “I would say 20 lien.” 

The first book would usually cost 35 lien. Was he discounting it for him? What was the man trying to do here now? Actually, why was he this much relaxed around Shaun?

“I suppose I can agree to it… boss.” The boy sighed as he handed over exact amount to the shop owner, picking the copy in his hands.

The Cat Faunus’ head started to heat up at the word ‘boss’, remembering spotting a ‘Help Wanted’ sign by the entrance mere weeks ago and… it was gone now. Eyes widening, Blake was beaten to the punch by Yang.

“Shay-boy, did I just hear that you work here?” The blonde looked surprised more than confused, not finding it totally odd that a student would seek a job outside of Beacon but… a book shop was the least usual choice for someone their age.

The teen sighed. “Mr. Tukson accepted to have me working around for the Sundays as those days he is particularly busy with personal matters. The pay is good and I hope to get something nice by the summer.”

“Oh?” The Xiao Long developed a teasing smile on her face as she poked at his shoulder. “And what is it? A car, a motorbike?”

Yet nothing prepared the brawler from the collected and shocking answer of the boy, Blake being the one the least surprised by it.

“I was thinking of buying a house.” He muttered calmly. “Something to live in during the time off from Beacon and maybe later the studies.”

Lilac eyes were wide open and the Belladonna intervened to not turn this whole revelation into something wrongly bland. 

The information that one of her teammates was getting a house was actually an interesting idea for her own staying during summer time. 

Going for hotels was nice if it was for a brief and temporary stay, having someone that (hopefully) would let her around to sleep in one of his guest rooms was as intriguing as important for the near future.

“I-I don’t want to dissuade you or anything, bud, but why a house? Couldn’t you just go… to your family?”

He didn’t flinch, he didn’t let out any sign of some negative reaction...

“My parents are dead.” 

...yet his tone seemed spent, empty even as he gave quite the intense look at the book in his hands. The blonde looked mortified at the situation and seemed to be quickly on her feet to fix this little issue she had created.

“I-I didn’t mean to bring out some bad memories. I mean, Ruby and I both lost our mom too and-” She paused, her face scrunching as if to try and word some apology but…

Blake’s eyes softened as she saw Shaun lift his finger to poke Yang’s nose, bringing the girl out of her distressed state. 

“First thing first, boop.” 

The blonde’s cheeks exploded in red as the boy smiled. 

“I appreciate your attempt, Yang, I do. There is no need to take the blame for something you are not responsible for.”

“B-But still-” His finger pressed once more on her nose, stopping her on her tracks. “C-Can you not?”

“Hm? You mean like you should ‘stop trying to apologize’?” She groaned at his insistence, ignoring completely the fact she herself was being stubborn about this. 

Shaun looked fine now and continuing to perpetrate any apology was… wrong. 

While it’s nice to apologize for reminding bad things to people, it’s also true that one shouldn’t press too much with apologies.

People like to not think about those things and, continuing to bring something this tragic up to ‘apologize’ was wrong for several reasons.

“Yang.” Blake finally spoke tentatively, catching almost immediately the attention of her partner. “Didn’t you have to find some comics? I think that was why you asked for Shaun to come here today.”

The blonde blinked and Tukson spoke up. “The Comic section is on your right.”

Finally the man was giving her some help, the Belladonna nodding at him as the brawler was finally being pulled by the boy, unable to blurt anything to protest her being interrupted this actively.

With a sigh, the Cat Faunus followed behind as her mind reminded her one very small detail. 

While Shaun looked unfazed by many things around him, he was far from untouchable and… he had some backstory she would be more than happy to listen for.

Maybe she could manage with an offer of exchanging past stories? Only time will tell if this will be a good idea or not.

* * *

Raven Branwen would have scowled if she hadn’t been in her bird form. Perching outside of Tukson’s Book Trade to wait for her daughter and her team to leave the place was starting to turn into a nerve-wracking task.

The sun was scorching today and the fact she had just finished dunking down two bottles of wine meant that she was literally cooking under that unholy day. Regret was filling her lungs as her self-anger was boiling deep in her chest, feeling conflicted if she should or not call a day and try this another time-

But then she was reminded of the fact that she had been dodging this situation for a while and… and it was starting to annoy her. She preached so much of her strength, rightfully so, and yet she failed to stand up and fit in one of her most important roles in her entire life.

She sighed again, the status quo managing to survive long enough for her to spot the doors of the book shop opening with her little dragon leading the group out of the building and… her eyes locked onto the small booklet her girl was holding.

One of those ‘comics’, she remembered the times Taiyang would go out to buy several of those for the sake of… entertainment. Seriously, why waste time reading about ‘cool fighting’ when you could already fight in a ‘cool’ way.

That logic defied her understanding and, if she had to be honest, maybe it was right if she ‘confiscated’ it from her warrior. Jumping off with her wings open and ready for the flight, Raven rushed toward the trio, her small claws preparing to snatch out the little book out of her hold.

Going in quickly, the bird managed with her intent, stealing the object out of her daughter’s hands, the blond immediately giving chase while yelling at her some curious words she had not expected her child to know, especially with having around someone as uptight as Taiyang.

The little escape lasted for several minutes, many the moments her hold over her package was broken by the attempts of the three students and yet… her plan went without major issues. 

The spot she had planned for this reunion, a small section of the docks gone unused years ago that was now going to be the place of such event.

She dropped her form back to human, her back given to the approaching group as she slowly turned around-

**SLAM**

-and had to block the swift punch of the only boy of the trio. Pushed away few steps from him, she gave him quite the fierce glare from her mask, both because this was an unexpected and unpleasant first contact and because that hit stung through her aura.

Shaking her arm, her scowl widened as he had his own weapon,  **a small dagger-like sword eager for some fighting.**

Raven blinked as her breathing was itching for something and-

“Mom?”

Red eyes darted to her daughter, Yang looking surprised and yet ready for some fighting as she prepared her shotgun-gauntlets. Her teammate, the Cat Faunus, deploying a curious weapon that looked much like a kusarigama with some heavy modifications.

“Yang.” Her tone was restrained, trying to keep at bay her emotions at finally seeing her and…

Was she wrong in feeling proud at her little dragon for having taken part of her mother within herself? The hair, the expressions and… there was some warm emotion lingering so deeply within her as she noticed the familiar style.

It wasn’t Taiyang. It was hers, the very brawling style she had grown to use during her training with her husband. 

What if she had lost her weapon in a fight? Summer had once mentioned this during one of the usual lunches they had shared back when they all lived together. Raven’s interested had piqued and soon she had accepted to take some hand-to-hand training.

At first it was a completely new experience from using a normal sword as her hands were made to be agile but hardly strong enough to push some damage with a punch. 

Then with the weeks passing she developed a keen interest in further expanding her knowledge of brawling… just like she had started to frequent the idiotic but lovable blond.

“W-Why are you here?” Yang’s voice brought her out of her memories and she sighed loudly.

“I wish to speak with you alone. I wish to-”

“Hold up a second! Why should we leave her alone with you, _ma’am_?” The impertinent boy interjected again, this time drawing a clear growl from her.

“Because it is about family-”

“Y-You weren’t even there for us and you still _dare to call us ‘family_ ’?” Her child’s voice cracked for a moment as anger took over her wording and… she could accept this hatred. It was something she had long prepared for but… to see this being told with her own red eyes?

She knew that Taiyang’s eyes would glow when using his semblance, but to see her baby girl actually showing the same shade of red the moment she was furious?

Oddly enough it left her a pleasant but sour taste in her mouth.

“There are good reasons for my forceful exile, _my child_.” The Branwen took a step forward. “I want to explain and-”

“And you can explain this all with her teammates there too, can you?” The annoying youth put himself between the blonde and her and… that was enough. Her hands slowly reached for the hilt of her sword, back arching as she prepared for some give some humility and silence to the pest.

“I will warn you this once, boy. I will let go of your annoying behavior, I don’t want to hurt anyone, especially my daughter-”

“Can’t I just be a good teammate and say ‘better safe than sorry’? Dunno, ma’am, I cannot truly say if you are lying or not now.”

She sighed tiredly and nodded. “ _ So be it _ .”

Dashing forward to slam the young Beacon student away, she was partly surprised when her first move was deflected by the dagger-sword, the young man proceeding to move swiftly through the temporary opening on her stance to land a hit on her.

She dodged on the side, barely getting touched by the blade as she brought her guard up while the youth continued with his own attacks. 

No stabs and no over-reaching, those were mostly probing attempt to discern any weakness in her stance. Admirable, but stupidly futile with someone of her caliber.

He wasn’t fighting a fellow student, but someone way stronger and more experienced than him. Her sword shone red as it started to return hit with stronger hits, a single swing against a dozens, the battle completely one-sided as she returned to poke around at his own defense.

His stance was basic, or at least it would seem to the naked eye, but there were some minor changes in it, some fixing that made his capacity to deflect, dodge and counter the attacks coming at him with an interesting pace.

Quite surprising from a first-year student but… it was a minor one. Some attacks landed through his careful parrying, some attempts to deflect him ended up getting him pushed around and he could counter with the speed her strikes were reaching for him.

It was a slow losing match for him, one thing he had realized the moment his first attack was disrupted. As the fight intensified and the blows started to get even more faster than before, Raven couldn’t help but think that this little ‘spar’ was actually bringing out the personality of such individual.

She had to admit this was getting somewhat nostalgic. The more she threw attacks, the more he moved quickly with his curious Electrokinesis from his semblance as, until that point, he had yet to show further mastery of his ability but… his speed was visibly augmented and his reaction time seemed to have been boosted too.

It was right when he dodged another of her upward slashes that her red eyes flickered to another moment in her life. The figure of the boy was overlapped by  **another one, this one a little shorter than him but also covered by that pure white cape of hers.**

He went for a quick stab,  **only for Raven to push back the smiling Summer.** He ducked as her sword went  **right above her head as the girl** went for another attack.

**It was a bait, the woman already retreating her blade** but failing to hit the elusive boy, some sweat rolling off his forehead as this was going already for a long time.

He retreated, still smiling  **showing off some bravado at a situation that was completely unfavorable for her, what was Summer thinking? Why was she smiling so eagerly when** he was losing.

She dashed once more to meet the boy and  **the caped girl rushed at her, weapon concealed and low as the two finally met** , Raven taking another swing but surprisingly missing by a fraction of meter as his fist drove powerfully on her guts. 

**Summer’s glove managed to hold well with her pure speed semblance, the impact** _**forcing Raven to be flung away from the battlefield.** _

_ The impact interrupted as she took hold of the boy’s arm and held him still as she kneed him in his own stomach. _

Bending down, the boy let out a pained groan as he fell on the floor, trembling and trying to hold down the content of his guts. Blinking away from the fading memories, Raven knew that the alcohol was to blame for the past overlapping with her present.

The Branwen was about to call out for a victory when a black ribbon completely tied her up, surviving against her first attempt to free herself.

“That is enough, _mom_!” Yang snarled as she prepared to attack her now that she was stuck still because of the restraints. Mouth open to stop this, she was painfully interrupted by an explosive punch slamming on her cheek, followed by another and… another.

A beating she was suffering without much choice, her guilt holding her still but… finally she let her Maiden’s powers out. The sudden energy filling her body gave her more strength, enough to break the limitations of the ribbon and hold still the enraged daughter of hers.

“Enough.” Her tone was surprisingly calm and yet the power behind it caused the girl to stop with her assault. Eyes returning back to lilac, Yang still looked furious.

“You just hurt my teammate-” 

“He is still alive and without major injuries.” She stated with a stronger tone. “His aura is still up and… I am honest with my attempt to reconnect-”

The blonde’s eyes widened as the woman pulled her in an embrace and whispered in her ears.

“ _I am sorry for having abandoned you, my little dragon._ ” Yang stiffened in her hold as Raven’s shoulders sagged tiredly. It has been… so long since she had been in a hug. “ _I-I am sorry._ ”

At first her child didn’t react to it and the woman felt her hopes dwindling away at the idea it was all lost, when-

_ Yang slowly relaxed and hugged her back _ . 

“Don’t be, mom. Not now, at least.” Lilac met with Red. “You said you wanted to explain… and I suppose I shall hear you before deciding what to do about… our family.”

“I-”

“One day.” She then stated with some doubt. “I wish just one day to… digest this situation and-”

“I-I can contact you, if you wish and-”

“S-Sure.”

The two looked both embarrassed at the fact they were being stared up by the Cat Faunus and the boy.

“So… you two cool?” The dark-haired girl snorted while elbowing the pest, eliciting an ‘ouch’ as he massaged his sore ribs. “W-What? Can’t I just ask after getting my ass kicked for this to happen?”

“You still fared well, brat.” Raven admitted as the embrace between mother and daughter ended. “But yes, you did get your ass kicked.”

He scowled. “You got pummeled too few moments ago-” 

“But it was still you that lost this fight.”

Groaning at the losing argument, the woman blinked as she looked at her small backpack, picking up a… journal.

_ You were right. This little thing isn’t supposed to be kept by three nostalgic fools… _

“Boy.” His eyes were on her now as she threw the journal at him. “Read this, improve and adapt by following its precepts. You will become strong but… remember why you fight, always.”

“Uh...” was the youth’s intelligent answer as he studied the small book in his hands. “A-Actually I have a n-name, ma’am.”

“Then indulge me, what is your name, brat?” He pouted from his little spot on the floor as the woman felt smug about this victory, despite the fact she just fought someone terribly weaker than her.

“My name is Shaun Reyter!”

“ **M-My name is Summer Rose, partner!** ”

She felt a chuckle die in her throat at the surprising similarity between the two and… she sighed again as he nodded at him before returning to Yang. “I will expect more from you,  _ Shaun Reyter _ .”

“My child.” Raven ruffled the girl’s hair much to the younger female’s anger and annoyance. “We shall met again, hopefully to truly talk about the past and not waste time in… squabbles.”

Yang nodded. “Sure thing, mom- and actually I wanted to know one thing now.” 

The Branwen stopped as she formed the portal back to her hideout, giving a questioning look at her daughter.

“Will you talk with dad? He misses you.”

Red eyes fell on the floor as the woman sighed. “I am… still thinking about this. I don’t think he wouldn’t understand-”

“Whatever bullshit you give him he will take it face-value.” The brawler pressed further much to the woman’s displeasure.

“I will think about this and… eventually I will have to talk to him so… goodbye.”

The portal closed as it left three students to pick themselves up from that intense encounter, Blake helping Shaun up as the boy found the task of mere walking hindered by his soreness and fatigue.

“...And this is how to spend the morning with a Yang!”

“ _I hate you and everything you stand for, Yang._ ” A grunt left the only male of the team as the Xiao Long felt surprisingly eager to storm the world with more puns. 

After all today has been quite the unique day, leaving her with a… different pers **peck** tive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Weiss will characterize next chapter, the Rose hopefully will breach into the thick and icy core of the Altesian girl… with the help of someone.  
> But we all know that things are never easy and… yeah that journal is important.

**Author's Note:**

> Spinning this chair, I try to please~.  
> Hello and yes, this is an incredibly long chapter. Why? Well, I decided to try and get something as lengthy and detailed as Coeur Al’Aran does and… I don’t know. I think I got most of the errors fixed but… I might be wrong.  
> Also yes, this is the same protagonist of Diary of a Straight Dude as… this is a serious What-If. What happen when the author change something in the plot? * Bam * An equilateral love triangle.  
> Quick facts before going out: Ruby is not a yandere, merely a super-jealous cinnamon roll; Yang and Blake… yeah;


End file.
